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19 July 2006 : Column 526W—continued
Duchy of Lancaster
IT Projects
8. Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress the Government are making in reducing cost overruns and delays in its IT projects; and if she will make a statement. [86196]
Mr. McFadden: Like Governments in all major economies, the Government are investing in IT on a large scale to improve services to the public and to ensure they are more focused on the needs of service users.
The Transformational Government Strategy published last November included a number of changes to improve performance management of IT projects.
strengthened scrutiny of the most important programmes, including the appointment of Non Executive Directors to their Boards;
the establishment of the Government IT profession; and
closer work with the IT industry association to improve supplier performance in Government IT contracts.
Voluntary Workers
10. Ms Diana R. Johnson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent assessment she has made of the proportion of people who do voluntary work; and if she will make a statement. [86198]
Edward Miliband: The recently published Citizenship survey confirms that there are increased numbers of adults volunteering regularly, 20.4 million in 2005 compared to 18.4 million in 2001. There is also increased Government investment in the volunteering infrastructure—£68 million in 2007-08 compared to £17 million in 1997-08.
Disadvantaged People
11. Ms Keeble: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps she is taking to combat pockets of disadvantage. [86199]
Hilary Armstrong: The Government have made substantial progress on tackling social exclusion. This has, however, made the most excluded stand out even more starkly.
I am, therefore, spearheading a renewed drive across Government to address the most socially excluded in our society and will be publishing an action plan in the autumn setting out how we plan to address some of the remaining, deep-seated, exclusion.
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the floor space is of the new Office of the Deputy Prime Minister in 26 Whitehall. [85669]
Edward Miliband: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister occupies 389 m(2 )of office space in 26 Whitehall.
Official Residence
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if she will place in the Library a copy of the Cabinet Office contract for the maintenance of the official residences in Admiralty House. [85666]
Edward Miliband: The contract is a legal document and is covered by a commercial confidentiality clause, which prevents its publication.
Mrs. Spelman:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent on the Old Admiralty Building on (a) security, (b) utilities, (c)
facilities management and (d) general maintenance in the most recent year for which figures are available. [85670]
Mr. Hoon: I have been asked to reply.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office spent £465,106 on utilities, £241,875 on facilities management and £646,185 on general maintenance for the Old Admiralty Building in financial year 2005-06. The security measures in force at the Old Admiralty Building are reviewed regularly to ensure they are commensurate with the threat; the costs are kept under review.
Deputy Prime Minister
Ministerial Travel
9. Bob Russell: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he last used the London Underground in connection with his official duties. [86197]
The Deputy Prime Minister: My duties frequently involve travel around the country and for this purpose I use public transport on a regular, weekly basis. I last used the London Underground in connection with official duties towards the end of last year.
Angela Watkinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether his office has chartered aircraft in connection with his official duties since 5 May 2006. [84925]
The Deputy Prime Minister [holding answer 13 July 2006]: All my overseas travel costing over £500 will be accounted for in the annual list, which will be disclosed to Parliament in the usual way.
Gambling
12. Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what role he has in relation to Government policy on gambling and planning. [86200]
The Deputy Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) today at column 302.
Defence
13. Mark Pritchard: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to oversee the efficient development of defence policy. [86201]
The Deputy Prime Minister: I play a full and active part in discussions on these matters in Cabinet and the relevant Cabinet Committees.
Post Office
14. Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to secure the future of the Post Office network. [86202]
The Deputy Prime Minister: As the hon. Member may be aware, I chair the Cabinet Committee on the future of the Post Office network.
The Government remain committed to a viable Post Office network, and to ensuring that communities have access to the services they need, including Post Office services. That is why we have committed £300 million over the period 2006-08 to support the rural network, on top of £450 million in 2003-05.
Equal Pay
15. Lynda Waltho: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he has taken to co-ordinate Government policy on equal pay across the public sector; and if he will make a statement. [86203]
The Deputy Prime Minister: This important issue has been considered recently by a Cabinet Committee, which I chair. I am working to ensure the necessary action is taken across Departments, to add to the action we have already taken since 1997 to combat all forms of discrimination.
Departmental Budget
Sir Paul Beresford: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006, Official Report, column 787W, on the departmental budget, in which Department’s annual report his office will be included. [84864]
The Deputy Prime Minister [holding answer 13 July 2006]: My own.
Ministerial Office and Staff
Angela Watkinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006, Official Report, columns 788-89W, on his ministerial office and staff, what percentage of the staff in his private office is (a) female and (b) from ethnic minorities. [85061]
The Deputy Prime Minister [holding answer 13 July 2006]: Where the information requested results in figures of less than five this is not released in order to protect the privacy of individuals.
Websites
Mr. Heald:
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Wealden (Charles Hendry) of 22 June 2006, Official
Report, column 2131W, on websites, what the budget is for the creation of his new website; and whether the website is being constructed using (a) civil service staff and (b) external contractors. [83226]
The Deputy Prime Minister: Expenditure will be accounted for in the Department’s annual report and accounts, in the usual way. The website is being constructed by civil servants.
Communities and Local Government
Competent Persons Scheme
Mr. Swayne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 3 July 2006, Official Report, column 754W, on the competent persons scheme, what delays have been caused to the competent persons scheme by the absence of officials; and if she will make a statement. [83713]
Angela E. Smith: Seventeen new competent person schemes came into operation following the publication of the Building and Approved Inspectors (Amendment) Regulations 2006 on 6 April 2006.
There has been a delay in issuing authorisations for these schemes. Officials met the Competent Persons Forum on 11 July to discuss authorisations and will meet with those directly affected to seek to resolve the issues on Monday 17 July.
Council Tax
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of properties in (a) Northumberland county council, (b) Cornwall county council, (c) Shropshire county council and (d) Cumbria county council are in each council tax band. [86349]
Mr. Woolas: The numbers of dwellings liable for council tax in Cornwall, Cumbria, Northumberland, and Shropshire county councils as at 19 September 2005 and in each council tax band are shown in the following table:
| Council tax band | ||||||||||
| A- | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | Total | |
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