| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Electoral Commission Committee
Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act
26. Mr. Hands: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what recent representations the Electoral Commission has received regarding section 5 of the Political Parties, Elections and ReferendumsAct 2000. [81389]
Peter Viggers: Section 5 of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 requires the Electoral Commission to report on the administration of certain elections and referendums. The Commission informs me that it is currently reviewing the way in which it carries out its responsibilities under this section. Following consultation with a wide range of stakeholders, responses have been received from 46 individuals and organisations.
Voter Participation
28. Jo Swinson: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what steps the Commission is taking to increase participation by young people in elections. [81391]
Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it undertakes advertising and other work to increase participation in elections amongst young people. This includes developing educational resources, training youth workers and teachers and making grants to organisations working with young people.
Transparency
Simon Hughes: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission what plans the Committee has to meet in public and publish records of all its meetings in full. [81390]
Peter Viggers: The Speaker's Committee has no present plans to meet in public, or to change its practice of publishing summary records of its meetings.
Leader of the House
Deputy Prime Minister
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Leader of the House if he will take steps to establish a Select Committee with responsibility for overseeing the role of the Deputy Prime Minister. [81934]
Mr. Straw: No.
Parliamentary Papers
Mr. Amess: To ask the Leader of the House if he will make it his policy to make copies of deposited papers available in the (a) Vote Office and (b) Printed Paper Office at the same time as copies are deposited in the Library; and if he will make a statement. [81238]
Mr. Straw: Departments regularly deposit papers in the Libraries of the House for the reference of Members and Peers. It is for Departments to assess the level of interest in a deposited paper and in cases where there is likely to be wider interest to provide sufficient copies of the document to the Vote Office and the Printed Paper Office accordingly.
Departments are always happy to provide copies of deposited papers to Member and Peers on request.
Church Commissioners
Church Repairs
Miss McIntosh: To ask the hon. Memberfor Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what the take-up was of grants to pay for church repairs in 2005-06. [81837]
Sir Stuart Bell: In 2005-6, the English Heritage/Heritage Lottery Fund joint scheme offered new grants and enhancements to existing grants which together totalled £24,465,309. As far as I am aware, all the offers were accepted.
In addition, grants totalling £999,000 were offered to 26 cathedrals and 24 of these offers (worth £971,000) were accepted.
£12,498,019 was also paid out in England in reimbursement of VAT under the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme.
Tithe Redemption Annuities
Robert Key: To ask the hon. Memberfor Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what factors were taken into account when deciding that tithe redemption annuities should cease to be payable. [80964]
Sir Stuart Bell: In 1976 the Government announced that as there were sufficient funds in the tithe account to service the existing redemption stock and, as the costs of administering the scheme were high, tithe redemption annuities should be extinguished. Final payments were to be made in 1976 and 1977. Legislative effect was given to this in the Finance Act 1976. The Board of Inland Revenue handled the matter on the Government's behalf.
Wales
Customs Services
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he last met Treasury Ministers to discuss (a) the customs coverage at ports and along the coast of Wales and (b) the impact of the disbandment of the Maritime and Aviation Intelligence Team on Wales; and if he will make a statement. [80360]
Mr. Hain: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on a wide range of issues.
HM Revenue and Customs keeps the deployment of officers under constant review. Officers are deployed according to risk and, depending on the risk, are stationed at ports either on a permanent or visiting basis.
The work of the
Maritime and Aviation Intelligence Team has been subsumed by other
intelligence units. These changes have been found to be more efficient
and productive. As a consequence Wales will benefit from
improved intelligence relating to imported smuggled goods, whatever
method of transport and point of entry is
used.
Departmental Publications
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list the draft Bills produced by his Department since October 2005; how many were examined or are planned to be examined by (a) a Departmental Select Committee or a combination of Select Committees and (b) a Joint Committee of both Houses of Parliament; and if he will make a statement; [81652]
(2) if he will list in date order the (a) Green and (b) White Papers produced by his Department since October 2005. [81651]
Mr. Hain: None.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the unnumbered command papers produced by his Department in each session since 1976; how (a) hon. Members and (b) members of the public can (i) inspect and (ii) obtain copies; and if he will make a statement. [81654]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office was established on1 July 1999 and has not presented any unnumbered command papers to Parliament since that time.
Welsh Police Forces
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the effect on overall police (a) numbers and (b) funding in Wales of the proposed amalgamation of the four Welsh police forces. [79606]
Mr. McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
The case for the amalgamation of the four police forces in North Wales which was published in March suggested that such a force would have 7,613 officers and would lead to total annual savings of around£16 million.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent estimate he has made of the cost of unifying the four police forces in Wales. [79628]
Mr. McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
The estimated set-up cost of a strategic police force for Wales is £35 million. We are committed to paying 100 per cent. of reasonable set-up revenue and capital costs, net of reasonable savings. The precise projected level of these costs and savings is a matter for negotiations currently taking place.
Long-term savings made possible by the merger are currently estimated at around £16 million a year.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much has been spent so far on amalgamating the four police authorities in Wales. [79630]
Mr. McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
The costs to the Home Office relating specifically to amalgamation of police forces in Wales cannot be identified separately.
The costs, if any, that police forces and police authorities in Wales have incurred is a matter for the bodies concerned.
Public Accounts Commission
National Audit Office
24. John Mann: To ask the Chairman of thePublic Accounts Commission what assessment the Commission has made of whether the National Audit Office has sufficient resources available to enable it to examine the value for money of claims handling agreements for miners' compensation. [81387]
Mr. Alan Williams: The Comptroller and Auditor General has decided to include an examination of the Coal Health Compensation Schemes in his 2007-08 value for money programme which will be considered by the Committee of Public Accounts on 12 July. Work is planned to begin later this year. The forward National Audit Office programme is a matter for the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Committee of Public Accounts.
Prime Minister
Bus Loans
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Prime Minister whetherhis Government has lent a double decker bus to (a) organisations, (b) political parties, (c) campaigns and (d) other governments; and if he will make a statement. [81903]
The Prime Minister: The information requested is not held centrally.
Engagements
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Prime Minister whether any Cabinet Ministers plan to be in Germany on official business on (a) 8 and (b) 9 July. [81866]
The Prime Minister: For security reasons, the future engagements of Cabinet Ministers are announced as and when appropriate.
EU Finance
Mr. Brady: To ask the Prime Minister whether he was consulted by the Chancellor of the Exchequer before representations were made to the EU Commission in the week commencing 19 June to re-open discussions about the UK abatement. [81821]
The Prime Minister: I have regular meetings and discussions with ministerial colleagues and others on a wide range of subjects. Information relating to internal meetings, discussion and advice is not disclosed as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
GovNet Expo 2006
Mr. Gummer: To ask the Prime Minister what the cost is to the Government as a whole of supporting GovNet Expo 2006. [79218]
The Prime Minister: The information requested is not held centrally.
Guantanamo Bay
Keith Vaz: To ask the Prime Minister what discussions he has had with other heads of government at the recent European Council on the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. [80356]
The Prime Minister: There was no discussion of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility at the June European Council.
Israel
Richard Burden: To ask the Prime Minister whether he raised the cases of Tom Hurndall and James Miller with Prime Minister Olmert during his recent visit to the UK; and if he will make a statement. [82162]
The Prime Minister: I raised the cases of James Miller and Tom Hurndall with Israeli Prime Minister Olmert during his recent visit to London. The British embassy in Tel Aviv and consular officials in London continue to follow both cases closely and to offer the families of both men consular assistance.
New Aircraft
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Prime Minister what the projected total cost is of purchasing new aircraft for his use and that of members of the Royal Family; what the annual (a) running costs and (b) costs of cabin staff and pilots' salaries are expected to be; and if he will make a statement. [80113]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement made by the right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Hilary Armstrong), on 29 June 2006, Official Report, columns 19-21WS.
Special Envoy
Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister for what reason he deemed it necessary to appoint a special envoy to be his representative solely to the Sultan of Brunei. [81020]
The Prime Minister: I have nothing further to add to the answer I gave the hon. Member on 19 June 2006, Official Report, columns 1614-15W.
United Arab Emirates
Mr. Fallon: To ask the Prime Minister whether he has visited the United Arab Emirates on official business since May 1997. [81897]
The Prime Minister: Since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. Copies of these lists are available in the Library of the House. Information on the number of officials accompanying Ministers on overseas visits is included in the list. All Ministers’ travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in chapter 10 of the ministerial code, and the accompanying guidance document, “Travel by Ministers”. Information for the year 2005-06 will be published as soon as it is ready.
Constitutional Affairs
Child Access
Mr. Lansley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many parents with care have been imprisoned in the last five years for ignoring court orders and obstructing access to children by their non-resident parent. [80343]
Ms Harman: Information on how many parents with care have been imprisoned in the last five years for ignoring court orders and obstructing access to children by their non-resident is not recorded. However, the figures in the table show the number of people remanded under custody. These cases include those sentenced to prison and those kept in police cells. The table also shows the number of people remanded on bail or for medical reports.
| Financial Year | Bail | Custody | Medical Reports | Total |
The figures in the table are from the county and High Courts only and relate to the breach of Family Law Act 1996 orders.
Correspondence
Mr.
Amess: To ask the Minister of State,
Department for Constitutional Affairs what the average cost to her
Department was of replying to a letter written (a) by an hon.
Member and (b) by a member of the public in the latest period
for which
figures are available; and how much of that sum is accounted for by (i)
officials' time, (ii) cost of stationery and (iii) postage costs.
[80475]
Vera Baird: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performanceof Departments in replying to Members/Peers' correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006, Official Report, columns 76-78WS. The information requested is not recorded and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Foreign Travel
Philip Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how much was spent on foreign travel by her Department in each of the last eight years. [76054]
Vera Baird: The costs for foreign travel (in eachyear since 1997) are not separately identifiable withinthe Department's accounts without incurring disproportionate costs.
The Department has published rules for official travel in its staff handbook, and all travel is undertaken in accordance with the guidelines set out in the “Civil Service Management Code”. In respect of overseas travel by Ministers, since 1999 the Government published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing £500 or more during each financial year. The Government also published annually the cost of all ministers visits overseas. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House and they report information for the financial years 1995-96 to 2005-06. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in the “Ministerial Code” and “Travel by Ministers”, copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House.
Operation Payback
Harry Cohen: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of Operation Payback; whether it has operated in (a) Redbridge and (b) Waltham Forest; and if she will make a statement. [78556]
Ms Harman: The last Operation Payback initiative (Operation Payback 3) took place between 15 to23 October 2005. Operation Payback 3 was undertaken by all 42 HMCS areas including north-east London, which covers Redbridge and Waltham Forest.
A reduction in financial penalties outstanding of £2.09 million can be specifically attributed to Operation Payback 3. In total, the three Operation Paybacks undertaken to date have reduced court debt by over £4.5 million.
Transport
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |