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8 Feb 2007 : Column 1101W—continued


Departments: Furniture

Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many items of furniture were (a) lost and (b) stolen from his Department in each year since 1997; and what the value was of those items in each year. [120716]

Mr. Hain: None.

Departments: Press Releases

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many press statements the Wales Office released in each of the last 12 months. [120036]

Mr. Hain: The Wales Office released the following press releases in the last 12 months:

2006 Number

January

5

February

7

March

7

April

5

May

5

June

6

July

6

August

4

September

4

October

4

November

4

December

4


We have also released numerous operational notes and quotes issued as reaction and rebuttal that we do not keep a record of.

National Assembly for Wales: Correspondence

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many letters he (a) sent to and (b) received from the First Minister for Wales in each of the last 12 months. [120041]

Mr. Hain: I have had many discussions with the First Minister over the last 12 months. As for letters, our records show that a total of 15 letters were sent to the First Minister for Wales in the period 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2006, and a total of 14 letters were received from the First Minister in the same period. The following table gives the monthly breakdown.


8 Feb 2007 : Column 1102W
2006 Sent Received

January

0

0

February

0

0

March

3

3

April

1

1

May

0

0

June

2

1

July

1

1

August

1

1

September

1

1

October

1

2

November

4

1

December

1

3

Total

15

14


Deputy Prime Minister

China Task Force

Mr. Vara: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many meetings of the China Task Force he has (a) held and (b) chaired since 18 September 2006; and what the outcome has been of those meetings. [111375]

The Deputy Prime Minister: I will reply to the hon. Member as soon as possible.

Substantive answer from the Deputy Prime Minister to Shailesh Vara:

Ministerial Visits

Simon Hughes: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what official visits he has made to hospitals in South London since the last general election. [111384]

The Deputy Prime Minister: I have not made any official visits to hospitals in South London since the last general election.


8 Feb 2007 : Column 1103W

Duchy of Lancaster

Departmental Expenditure

Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2007, Official Report, columns 1980-81W, on Cabinet Office grants, how much was paid to the (a) Civil Service Sports Council, (b) Chequers Estate, (c) Whitehall and Industry Group, (d) Windsor Leadership Trust, (e) Silver and Cream Ltd. and (f) BBC Accounts Receivable; and what the purpose was of each grant; [119174]

(2) what level of grant the Cabinet Office made to each external organisation, including staff organisations, in the last year for which figures are available. [119328]

Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office made the following payments to external organisations in 2005-06.

£

Civil Service Sports Council

1,322,221

Chequers Estate

957,624

London Fire and Emergency Planning

606,000

Authority

Civil Service Benevolent Fund

500,000

BBC Accounts Receivable

416,000

The Stationery Office Ltd

374,674

Dandy Bookseller

299,647

Civil Service Retirement Fellowship

264,505

Latitude Maps

67,853

Whitehall and Industry Group

54,000

Macmillan Distribution Ltd.

34,155

Windsor Leadership Trust

27,500

HSE Books

7,378

Coutts Information Services Ltd.

7,126


The transaction entry in 2005-06 against Silver and Cream was a credit of £925. This was an accounting adjustment and not a grant payment as such.

The reason for the difference between the sum of the payments aforementioned and the amount published in the 2005-06 resource accounts is due to accounting adjustments.

The Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC) grant assists the CSSC to encourage and co-ordinate the pursuit by all its affiliated organisations of all forms of sports and recreation throughout the civil service.

The Chequers Estate grant is a payment for the maintenance of the country home for the Prime Minister. This grant also covers a contribution towards staff salaries and planned refurbishment and projects.

In 2005-06, the Cabinet Office made a contribution to the deployment of two Whitehall and Industry Group employees to initiate, manage and run cross-sector activities that supported the Government’s Professional Skills agenda and its work in talent development.

The Windsor Leadership Trust (WLT) was established in 1981, as part of the activities of HRH
8 Feb 2007 : Column 1104W
Duke of Edinburgh, to run a development programme for leaders of the future in our society. The Cabinet Office pays a grant to the WLT to cover the attendance costs on the programme of particularly talented senior civil servants from across Government Departments. These costs are then recouped from the attendees’ Departments.

The BBC Accounts Receivable grant is paid to the BBC annually to underpin the cost of the necessary infrastructure and support of the National Attack Warning System (NAWS). NAWS is a resilient communications service. Its current purpose is to assure central Government's ability to issue information to the public, via the BBC, in the event of a disruptive challenge affecting the nation.

Electronic Government

Mrs. May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many virtual seminars have taken place to date as part of the Government’s policy review. [117860]

Mr. McFadden: A series of six virtual seminars are planned to take place during February on the No. 10 website, focusing on the subject areas covered by the Policy Review working groups. None have taken place so far; their timing is yet to be confirmed.

Mrs. May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many webchats have taken place to date as part of the Government’s policy review. [117861]

Mr. McFadden: As part of the public engagement strand of the Policy Review, a series of webchats with Ministers on the No. 10 website is planned. They will give the public the opportunity to engage directly with Ministers around issues concerning the delivery of public services.

The first webchat is scheduled with the Secretary of State for Health on 8 February. The details of further webchats have yet to be confirmed.

Mrs. May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which companies administer the policy review’s (a) email alerts and (b) policyreview.org.uk website; and how much has been paid from the public purse to each company. [117866]

Mr. McFadden: As part of the Policy Review, online seminars are being arranged, linked from the No. 10 website, providing a forum for debate around key issues emerging from the Working Groups.

As part of this project, email alerts and the policyreview.org.uk website are being administered by The Live Group plc. The total cost of the project, including the delivery of the online seminars will be £10,000 plus VAT.

Ministerial Residences

Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006, Official Report, column 1853W, on ministerial residences, whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer had a role in the decision to refurbish the flat above 10 Downing street. [113949]


8 Feb 2007 : Column 1105W

Hilary Armstrong: The flat was returned from office space to living accommodation by the Cabinet Office.

Public Sector: Reviews

Mrs. May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what the cost was of the IPSOS Mori research undertaken as part of the Policy Review on Public Services that was published on 15 January 2007; [117859]

(2) what the cost has been to date of the IPSOS Mori contract as part of the Government’s policy review. [117862]

Mr. McFadden: The costs of the Ipsos MORI contract to manage elements of the public engagement strand of the Policy Review to date have been £11,000. This covers background research and preparation for the seminar at 10 Downing street on 15 January.

This represents the first tranche of a contract to manage elements of the public engagement strand of the Policy Review including Citizens Forums and a Summit in March.


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