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4 Dec 2006 : Column 208W—continued
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has its own guidance on the appropriate time limit for answering written parliamentary questions. [106585]
John Healey: Treasury Ministers endeavour to answer named day questions on the day nominated by the questioner and ordinary written questions within a working week of tabling, as provided for in “Erskine May”. In the 2005-06 parliamentary session, which ended on 8 November 2006, 74.9 per cent. of named day questions were answered on time, as were 80.1 per cent. of ordinary written questions.
Private Finance Initiatives
Mr. Dunne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the extent to which risk is transferred to the private sector in private finance initiative transactions where the Government continues to hold a significant shareholding in a company to whom the risk is being transferred; and if he will make a statement. [106879]
John Healey: Chapter 7 (paragraph 7.46) of the policy document “PFI: Strengthening Long Term Partnerships” sets out the Government’s position in relation to public sector equity in risk capital.
The full document is available at:
<http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget/budget_06/other_documents/bud_bud06_odpfi.cfm>.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reviews the Government have (a) undertaken and (b) commissioned on the cost-effectiveness of (i) private finance initiative projects, (ii) public-private partnerships and (iii) consultancy policy. [107132]
John Healey: The Government have undertaken and commissioned two major reviews of the cost effectiveness of private finance initiative projects. These are:
1. PFI: Meeting the Investment Challenge (July, 2003) available at <http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/documents/enterprise_and_productivity/PFI.cfm>
2. PFI: Strengthening Long Term Partnerships (March, 2006), available at <http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/budget/budget_06/other_documents/bud_bud06_odpfi.cfm> .
The National Audit Office has also conducted a number of investigations into the private finance initiative, available at:
http://www.nao.org.uk/.
The Government will, from time to time, undertake reviews of their various public-private partnership agreements. These are a matter for individual Departments, and their nature depends on the specific agreement in place.
The Office of Government Commerce has issued advice to Departments on the tendering process for consultancy support. This is available on their website:
www.ogc.gov.uk.
Public Appointments
Charles Hendry: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which public appointments have been made by his Department to former Ministers who have served in the Government since May 1997. [104578]
John Healey: Since 1997 no former Treasury Ministers have been the subject of public appointments made by the Treasury. Information is not held centrally on former Ministers of other departments. Information relating to all ministerial appointments is set out in the annual publication “Public Bodies”, copies of which are available in the Library.
Public/Private Forum on Identity Management
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the (a) private sector and (b) public sector organisations which the Public/Private Forum on Identity Management has consulted since its creation. [103507]
Mr. Timms: Members of the forum or staff supporting them have already consulted over 100 organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors. This includes companies and representative bodies across sectors such as banking, telecoms, travel and retail. Consultations with these and other contacts will continue as the forum’s work progresses. A full list of organisations and individuals consulted in the preparation of the forum’s report will be included in the report. Any organisation or individual who wishes to make contact with the forum may do so through:
identity.forum@hm-treasury.x.gsi.gov.uk
Renewables
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of HM Treasury’s energy supply is generated from renewable sources. [102866]
John Healey: 100 per cent. of the Treasury’s electricity supply is generated from renewable sources.
Special Advisers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what each gift received by (a) special advisers in his Department and (b) the Council of Economic Advisers declared to his Department in the 2005-06 financial year was; on what date each was given; what the estimated cost was of each; what the reason was for giving each gift; and what the name of the recipient was. [102864]
John Healey: Gifts recorded as being received by special advisers and the Council of Economic Advisers in 2005-06 were:
tickets to a U2 concert, June 2005;
tickets to Live8, July 2005; and
DVDs, December 2005
In the case of the tickets, donations were made to charity equal to or exceeding the value of the tickets. The DVDs were donated to Oxfam.
Tax Credits
Dr. Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criteria were used to determine the locations of the new Research and Development tax credit offices. [106545]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave him on 22 November 2006, Official Report, column 101W.
Terrorism
Michael Gove: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assets have been frozen in relation to those suspected or convicted of terrorist activity in each year since 1997. [103180]
Ed Balls: Nearly 200 accounts and around £500,000 of suspected terrorist funds have been frozen in the UK since 2001 when the UN’s terrorist asset freezing regime was established. The Treasury does not publish a breakdown of frozen funds for each year, as that could potentially reveal information about individuals’ assets. Freezing action also prevents the flow of funds to listed individuals and entities. Asset freezing is part of the Government’s overall strategy to create a hostile environment for terrorism and safeguard financial systems. A value cannot easily be put on those wider effects.
The Olympics
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff in his Department spend the majority of their time on work related to the 2012 Olympics; and what the pay band is of each of these staff members. [106517]
Mr. Timms: A number of Treasury staff at different levels contribute to work on the 2012 Olympics, as required.
Mr. Hoban:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what reports have been prepared for his Department by consultancy firms on the cost of the 2012 Olympics;
which firm produced each report; when each report was produced; and what the cost to the Department was of each report. [106519]
John Healey: The Treasury has not commissioned any reports from consultancy firms on the cost of the 2012 Olympics.
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