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7 Jun 2006 : Column 634W—continued
Police
11. Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent meetings he has had on police force restructuring in Wales. [74948]
Mr. Hain: I continue to discuss the proposals with key stakeholders. I remain convinced that a single police force is the most effective way of delivering a safe and secure Wales.
Regional Airports
12. Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the future of regional airports in Wales. [74949]
Nick Ainger: Air services have a vital role to play in the development of an integrated and sustainable transport system for Wales.
The Welsh Assembly Government are keen to exploit this potential to improve accessibility, open up new markets and encourage inward investment.
Pensions
13. John Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the effect of pensions policy on the people of Wales. [74950]
The Pensions White Paper shows that under our Government’s policies, Welsh pensioners can be ensured of proper pension provision in an ageing society.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will estimate the pension liability of his Department over the next 30 years. [75232]
Mr. Hain: Staff serving in the Wales Office are either on loan from the National Assembly for Wales or employed by the Department for Constitutional Affairs. Pension liabilities are managed by their employing bodies rather than by the Wales Office. Information on pension liabilities is not held centrally, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Dentistry
14. James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met the Health Minister of the Welsh Assembly to discuss NHS dentistry in Wales. [74951]
Nick Ainger: I regularly meet the Assembly Minister for Health and Social Services to discuss dental services in Wales.
Agriculture
John Penrose: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with Ministers of the Welsh Assembly Government on agriculture in Wales. [74946]
Nick Ainger: I have regular bilateral meetings with Carwyn Jones, Welsh Assembly Minister with responsibility for agriculture. The last of these was on 10 May, and our next planned meeting will be on 17 July.
Black/Asian Employees
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) black and Asian and (b) other people are employed in his Department’s press office. [74360]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office has a small number of staff. For privacy reasons the numbers are confidential, in line with guidance issued by the Cabinet Office, which states that Departments are not required to provide information on ethnicity, which is given voluntarily, where it is less than five.
Departmental Staff
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many staff in his Department did not achieve an acceptable mark in their annual report in each of the last three years; and what percentage this represented of the total number of staff in each case. [75087]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office has a small number of staff. For privacy reasons these numbers are confidential, in line with guidance issued by the Cabinet Office, which states that Departments are not required to provide this information where it is less than five.
Illegal Immigrants
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many illegal immigrants have been discovered to be employed by his Department in each year since 2001; in what capacities they were employed; how many were discovered as part of a criminal investigation; and what the nature of the charges brought against them were. [73967]
Public Transport (Incentives)
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what incentives are available to encourage members of his staff to use public transport for travelling to and from work. [75086]
Mr. Hain: The majority of Wales Office staff (around 75 per cent.) already use public transport to travel to or from work. Staff are able to access interest-free loans for the purchase of rail season tickets or bicycles.
House of Commons Commission
Cabinet Reshuffle
Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when each department of the House was notified by each Government Department of (a) the contact details of the private office of and (b) the responsibilities of each Minister following the recent Cabinet reshuffle. [73879]
Nick Harvey: The Department of the Official Report received some information by fax direct from No. 10 Downing street the day following the recent Cabinet reshuffle. Departments of the House monitored details on the No. 10 Downing street website, departmental websites and press reports during the period after the reshuffle to establish the facts on those aspects of the reshuffle which directly affected their business.
Clothes/Uniform Allowance
Mr. Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission which officers of the House qualify for an (a) clothes and (b) uniform allowance; what the allowance is in each case; and if he will make a statement. [73851]
Nick Harvey: There is no specific clothing or uniform allowance for Clerks at the Table or Serjeants at Arms. The costs of their uniforms are met from the Administration Estimate. They are responsible for cleaning costs. The Secretary and the Assistant Secretary to the Speaker also have the costs of their official clothing met from the Administration Estimate. The Assistant Secretary to the Speaker also receives a uniform allowance of £654 per annum to cover cleaning and maintenance costs.
Energy Usage
Mr. Davey:
To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what proportion of energy usage on the
House of Commons estate was provided by renewable energy in the last year for which figures are available. [75599]
Nick Harvey: At present, the purchase contract for the supply of electricity to the Parliamentary Estate stipulates that 10 per cent. of the electricity must come from a renewable source. Working from this figure, the proportion of total energy usage on the House of Commons estate provided by renewable energy was 4.9 per cent. During 2005-06.
Information Technology
Chris Huhne: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the (a) originally estimated, (b) most recently estimated and (c) outturn cost was of each of the five largest information technology contracts agreed by the House with outside suppliers over the last five years. [71766]
Nick Harvey: The information is not readily available in the form requested. The House has entered into a variety of IT-related contracts in recent years, some of which have been for hardware and software and others for project development or delivery. In few cases have the estimated and outturn costs related solely to a particular contract. Many of the contracts are in relation to continuing work.
The following table lists the five largest external suppliers by value for ICT-related goods and services in 2005-06.
| Supplier | Service | Expenditure (£000) |
| (1 )In support of the Parliamentary Information Management System (PIMS) and the Web Development Project. (2 )In support of the new House Administration Information System (HAIS). | ||
Apart from the contract with Insight Management and Systems Consultants Ltd., all these contracts are shared between the two Houses. The figures provided represent the Commons share of the costs incurred. These figures relate only to costs incurred under the Administration Estimate, for which the Commission is ultimately responsible, and not for costs borne on the Members’ Estimate, such as IT services for Members.
Official Report
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the average daily cost is of providing a hard copy version of the Official Report. [74543]
Nick Harvey: Neither the daily costs nor the per copy costs of producing the Official Report are held in the form requested, as the printing and publishing contract structure allows for payments in relation to printing consolidated classes of papers supplied complete. Internal staff, and other costs, are not associated with them or apportioned to individual documents. The following figures have been derived from printing contract data. The total printing expenditure per sitting day on the daily part of the Official Report for financial year 2005-06 is estimated at approximately £11,300, which equates to about £9.10 per copy taken by the House.
Postage Costs
Mr. Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 22 May 2006, Official Report, column 1315W, what estimate the Commission has made of the level of wastage of prepaid envelopes. [74325]
Nick Harvey: Wasted prepaid envelopes are sent to the Postmaster who ensures the House is credited with a full postage refund for each envelope. In 2005-06 the House was refunded £1,553.84 for wasted prepaid envelopes. No estimate has been made of the value of unused prepaid envelopes which are not recovered.
Mr. Dismore: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what estimate he has made of the potential savings which would result from stamping hon. Members mail using a franking machine as opposed to using prepaid envelopes. [74391]
Nick Harvey: The small postage saving gained by using franked mail as opposed to prepaid envelopes would be negated by additional costs to provide upgraded franking equipment and staff to weigh and frank each item of mail.
Publications
Mr. Gray: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what assessment the Commission has made of the merits of using (a) recycled and (b) environmentally-friendly paper in House of Commons publications. [74145]
Nick Harvey: The archival requirement of the paper used for House of Commons publications precludes the use of recycled consumer waste material in its production. The specialist paper used in their production is made from imported pulp from managed forests where trees (often two) are planted for every one used. Some mill broke recycled element is included. The paper is chlorine and acid free. The paper merchant holds an ISO 14001 certificate of registration for its environmental management system.
Culture, Media and Sport
BBC
Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what account she takes of wage inflation in the BBC when negotiating the level of the licence fee. [75508]
Mr. Woodward: The Government are currently conducting a funding review to determine the level of the licence fee to apply from April 2007. All relevant factors will be considered as part of the review.
Casinos
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many citizens of Milton Keynes were consulted on the bid for a large or small casino for Milton Keynes. [75400]
Mr. Caborn: The responsibility for consulting local residents on whether an area should bid for a large or small casino rests with the local authority concerned. Details of all local authority bids are available on the Casino Advisory Panel’s website at www.culture.gov.uk/cap.
On 24 May, the Casino Advisory Panel announced the areas that have been short listed for the 17 new casinos permitted under the Gambling Act 2005. In making the announcement, the panel made it clear that it would accept, until 28 June, representations on the shortlists from interested parties. Members of the public can express their opinions to the panel on the broad locations of casinos, whether of opposition or support.
Internet Service Providers
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what guidance her Department has issued to internet service providers on their responsibilities for illegal traffic hosted on their networks. [72675]
Mr. Woodward: None. I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to him by the Minister for Industry and the Regions my right hon. Friend the Member for Barking (Margaret Hodge) on 5 June 2006, Official Report, column 226W.
Tourism
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many tourists to the United Kingdom there were in each quarter since 1976, broken down by (a) country of origin, (b) age group and (c) duration of stay. [75651]
Mr. Woodward: The detailed information requested is too large to be printed in the Official Report. I am therefore arranging for the tabulation to be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The information, which comes from the International Passenger Survey and is published by the Office for National Statistics, refers to inbound tourist visits rather than tourists.
Figures for parts (b) and (c) of the question are provided from 1993 to 2005 only because earlier data are not available in electronic format and there would be disproportionate cost in obtaining this information.
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