Previous Section Index Home Page

16 Jan 2007 : Column 1019W—continued

NI Surpluses

Chris Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether surpluses in the national insurance fund may be used for general Government expenditure. [115625]

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South (Mr. Hancock) on 8 January 2007, Official Report, column 423W.

Olympics

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many members of staff in his Department attended meetings of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport steering group overseeing the Olympics cost review; and from which teams in his Department these staff members are. [115216]

John Healey: Most meetings of the steering group were attended by at least one member of the Devolved Countries and Regions team.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department in 2006, broken down by (a) ordinary written and (b) named day; what percentage of ordinary written questions were answered within
16 Jan 2007 : Column 1020W
10 working days; and what percentage of named day questions were answered by the specified date. [115321]

John Healey: In the 2005-06 parliamentary Session, 74.9 per cent. of the 1,029 named day questions which were tabled to the Treasury were answered on the day specified by the questioner and 80.1 per cent. of the 5,408 ordinary written questions were answered within a working week of tabling (as provided for in Erskine May). The corresponding figures for the 2006-07 Session up to 31 December 2006 were 101 (60.4 per cent.) and 619 (75.8 per cent.), respectively.

Pensions

Harry Cohen: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment his Department has made of the conclusions of Department for Work and Pensions Research Report 395: “Self-employment and retirement” regarding comparative perceptions of investment in bricks and mortar and in financial products and of their value as sources of income after retirement; what assessment his Department has made of the implications of these perceptions for pensions and pension reform; and if he will make a statement. [115331]

Ed Balls: Research Report 395: “Self-employment and retirement” was a small-scale qualitative research report with around 40 individuals to improve our understanding of the spectrum of views about planning and saving for retirement among (lower income) self-employed people, and what influences those views. My Department has not made any assessment of the conclusions of this report regarding general perceptions of investing in bricks and mortar as opposed to financial products, nor of its implications for pensions and pension reform.

Planning Gain Supplement

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Office for National Statistics plans to classify Planning Gain Supplement as a tax. [114821]

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibilities of the National Statistician who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 January 2007:

Pre-release Statistics

Mr. Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer who is given pre-release access to (a) market-sensitive and (b) non-market-sensitive final statistics. [114832]


16 Jan 2007 : Column 1021W

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.

Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 January 2007:

Prudential Borrowing Scheme

Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much has been borrowed by each Department under his Prudential Borrowing Scheme; what the annual rate of interest is; and if he will make a statement. [115689]

Mr. Timms: The Prudential Borrowing regime that came into effect on 1 April 2004 introduced greater freedom for individual local authorities to borrow for capital investment. Local authorities are now free to borrow for capital purposes subject to that borrowing being assessed against local prudential indicators that determine affordable and sustainable levels of debt. The Prudential Borrowing regime does not enable departments to undertake borrowing.

Revenue and Customs: Northern Ireland

Mark Durkan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to restructure HM Revenue and Customs offices in Northern Ireland; and what he expects the effect of that restructuring to be on (a) job numbers and (b) office location. [115264]

Dawn Primarolo: HMRC is undertaking a series of regional planning reviews of its accommodation to bring it into line with future operational requirements. Each review will include a consultation exercise. No decisions will be taken on the future of any individual office until after the completion of the consultation period in each region. More information on the programme is available at:

Royal Mail

Mr. Weir: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent using Royal Mail in each of the last five years. [115241]


16 Jan 2007 : Column 1022W

John Healey: The Treasury’s spending on postage was £46,000 in 2004-05 and £40,000 in 2005-06. For earlier years I refer to the answer given by the then Financial Secretary to the hon. Member for Tatton (Mr. Osborne) on 21 February 2005, Official Report, column 75W. This spending is primarily the franking of letters and packages for delivery by the Royal Mail, and delivery of ministerial pouches, also by the Royal Mail.

Sports Club Subscriptions

Ms Keeble: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what representations he has received on the provision of a tax rebate for children’s subscriptions to sports clubs. [115153]

Dawn Primarolo: The extension of Gift Aid to junior subscriptions is one of a number of issues sports representative bodies have raised. Representations have been passed on to HM Treasury from DCMS and have been made to HMRC and DCMS officials as part of the Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) Development Forum. We keep all policy issues under review and discussions between officials and sports club representative bodies are ongoing.

The World Classroom

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much his Department spent on the World Classroom publication published on 4 January 2007; [115211]

(2) how many civil servants from his Department worked full-time to produce the World Classroom publication published on 4 January 2007, broken down by pay band. [115212]

Ed Balls: The cost of publishing the World Classroom pamphlet was met in full by the Department for International Development.

Valuation Office Agency

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what role the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) plays in Scotland; and what services the VOA provides to agencies in Scotland. [114344]

Dawn Primarolo: In Scotland the Valuation Office Agency (VOA), which is an Executive Agency of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), carries out property valuations and property-related services as set out in section 10 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Valuation Office Agency publishes an autumn performance report. [114345]

Dawn Primarolo: No, it does not.

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many photographs are stored on the Valuation Office Agency’s central database. [114371]


16 Jan 2007 : Column 1023W

Dawn Primarolo: There are 25 million records for business and domestic properties, and there are 2.2 million photographs as at 20 November 2006.

Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the Answer of 19 December 2006, Official Report, columns 1731-2W, on departmental expenditure, what the reasons were for the change in the Valuation Office Agency’s expenditure on vehicle maintenance between 2004-05 and 2005-06. [114541]

Dawn Primarolo: A factor for the higher maintenance cost for 2005-06 was the servicing cycle of a number of pool cars nearing the end of their two-year lease and works required to meet the leasing obligations prior to handback of the cars to the leasing company.

Home Department

Antisocial Behaviour

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on tackling the problem of antisocial behaviour in communities including in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands. [114248]

Mr. McNulty: The Home Department is in regular discussion with officials in the Department for Communities and Local Government about a range of matters including antisocial behaviour.

The Respect Task Force is driving forward the delivery of cross-government commitments set out in the Respect Action Plan, to tackle antisocial behaviour and the causes of antisocial behaviour. The Department for Communities and Local Government is a significant partner in this.

The Respect drive is being delivered nationally but the Respect Task Force is also focusing support in a number of key areas. In November, we announced additional funding for parenting support in 77 areas across the country, including Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Stoke on Trent and Walsall in the West Midlands.

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what powers are available to deal with parents of children who display antisocial behaviour in their local communities. [114250]

Mr. McNulty: Where assessment indicates this is in the interests of preventing a repetition of antisocial behaviour by children and young people up to the age of 17, Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) can apply for a parenting order under section 26 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003. A parenting order can also be made under section eight of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 on conviction of a juvenile or where an antisocial behaviour order, child safety order or parental compensation order is made. A parenting order requires the parent/s to attend a parenting programme and to comply with specific requirements in the interests of preventing a repetition of the kind of
16 Jan 2007 : Column 1024W
behaviour that led to the order being made. Breach of a parenting order is a criminal offence and can result in a fine of up to £1,000 and/or a community sentence.

YOTs also have statutory power, under section 25 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003, to enter into parenting contracts, with parents whose child has engaged in, or is likely to engage in, criminal conduct or antisocial behaviour. The contract would include specific ways in which the parents agree to exercise control over the child and to attend a parenting programme. If parents refuse to enter into a contract or fail to comply with one, the YOT may apply for a parenting order.

Parenting orders can also be made under the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 following prosecution of parents for their child's non-attendance at school. Section 19 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 provides local authorities and schools with the power to enter into parenting contracts to help address children's behaviour and attendance at school. Section 20 of the Act provides that local authorities can also apply to the courts for a parenting order where a pupil has been excluded permanently or for more than one fixed period as a result of serious misbehaviour.

These powers will be enhanced by the measures introduced in the Education and Inspections Act 2006 which from 1 September 2007 will: allow parenting contracts to be used as an earlier intervention (without the need for exclusion); enable parenting orders to be applied for by schools; and permit orders to be applied for where there has been serious misbehaviour but without the necessity of excluding the pupil.

The Education and Inspections Act also introduces a new duty on schools to arrange reintegration interviews following a pupil’s fixed period exclusion from school. This duty will apply to all fixed period exclusions of primary-aged pupils and those of more than five days of secondary-aged pupils. These interviews will enable the school to engage formally with the parent and so assist the pupil's reintegration and improvement in his or her behaviour. It will be mandatory for parents to attend these interviews and failure to do so will be a factor which a court may take into account in any future application for a parenting order. Parents will also be required to ensure that their child is not present in a public place, without reasonable justification, during school hours in the first five days of any exclusion from school. If parents fail to be responsible for their child’s whereabouts during this time, they will commit an offence. They may discharge liability for the offence by paying a penalty notice; however, failure to pay could result in prosecution for the original offence.

The Police and Justice Act 2006 enables a wider range of agencies, including local authorities and registered social landlords, to apply for parenting orders where children or young people have engaged in antisocial behaviour or to enter into parenting contracts where they have engaged in, or are likely to engage in, criminal conduct or antisocial behaviour. The Police and Justice Act 2006 will be commenced later this year.

Parental Compensation Order (PCO) powers were commenced in 10 local authority areas on 20 July. The PCO is a civil order designed to reinforce the
16 Jan 2007 : Column 1025W
responsibilities of parents of children under the age of 10. It requires parents to provide compensation if a child under 10 takes or damages property in the course of anti-social behaviour or behaviour which, if he were over 10, would have constituted an offence, and where it would be desirable in the interests of preventing a repetition of the behaviour in question. Compensation is limited to £5,000. The PCO is made in the adult magistrates court on application by the local authority. The court has the same powers to enforce payment as it does for fines.

Data Protection

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on data-sharing within and across the public sector; and what safeguards are being considered to prevent misuse of data and to ensure that the privacy of the individual is not compromised. [115268]

Vera Baird: I have been asked to reply.

The Government’s information-sharing vision statement, published on 13 September 2006, set out our commitment to share information to expand opportunities for the most disadvantaged, fight crime and provide better public services for citizens and business, and in other instances where it is in the public interest. A copy of the statement may be found in the House Library.

The safeguards to protect the privacy of the individual are provided by the Data Protection Act, the Human Rights Act and the law relating to breach of confidence, which balance individuals’ privacy rights with the need for organisations to use personal information for legitimate purposes.

The Government have consulted on a possible amendment to the Data Protection Act to increase the penalties for those who deliberately and wilfully misuse personal data. The consultation ended on 31 October and the Government’s response will be published in due course.


Next Section Index Home Page