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1 Mar 2007 : Column 1521W—continued
Duchy of Lancaster
Departmental Coordination: EC Action
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many staff are employed in her European Secretariat; and what mechanisms are in place for liaison between the Secretariat and officials responsible to the Minister for Europe. [123376]
Hilary Armstrong: The European Secretariat, which is part of the Cabinet Office, employs 28 people. The Secretariat coordinates European policy across Government. There is daily contact at all levels between the Secretariat and FCO officials dealing with EU business and the FCO attend European Secretariat coordination meetings.
Departments: Accountancy
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what items were covered by the 18(b) Intra-Government Balances as referred to on page 54 of the Cabinet Office's Resource Accounts 2005-06. [123377]
Hilary Armstrong: Note 18b covers amounts outstanding to the Cabinet Office for the following items under each of the headings.
Balances with other central Government bodies
The National School for Government's business trading transactions with other parts of
Government, providing training, development and consultancy services.
Services provided by the Parliamentary Counsel Office.
Cost share arrangements with other Government Departments to deliver and operate DirectGov, the Government's primary digital service for citizens, and other common infrastructure.
Services in support of the Cabinet Office's objectives to achieve co-ordination of policy and operations across Government and to improve delivery by building capacity in Departments.
Permitted VAT recovery from HM Revenue and Customs.
The transfer of functions to other departments as part of machinery of government changes.
Balances with local authorities
Trading transactions with the National School of Government and the Emergency Planning College.
Reimbursement of costs connected with staff transferring between local authorities and the Cabinet Office.
Prepayment of civil defence grants.
Contributions to common IT infrastructure.
Trading transactions with the National School of Government and the Emergency Planning College.
Reimbursement of costs connected with staff transferring between NHS trusts and the Cabinet Office.
Balances with public corporations and trading funds
Trading transactions with the National School of Government.
Services in support of the Cabinet Office's objectives to achieve co-ordination of policy and operations across Government and to improve delivery by building capacity in Departments
Reimbursement of costs connected with staff transferring between NHS trusts and the Cabinet Office.
Balances with bodies external to government
Trading transactions with the National School of Government and the Emergency Planning College.
Advances to members of staff, primarily for season ticket loans.
Reimbursement of costs connected with collaboration with external bodies and with staff transferring between external bodies and the Cabinet Office.
Prepaid expenditure for training, maintenance, telecommunications and grants to civil service organisations.
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2007, Official Report, column 876W, on the budget, what activities are covered under the budget headings referred to; and what income was generated in the last period for which figures are available. [123383]
Hilary Armstrong: The main budget headings referred to in my answer of 6 February 2007, Official Report, column 876W are Pay, Non Pay and Income. The activities covered for each of these headings are as follows;
Pay includes all elements of pay and associated costs, such as salaries, employer’s related national insurance contributions and superannuation costs.
Non pay includes administration costs and programme costs. Administration costs are the costs of running the department, while programme costs reflect non administration costs including payments of grants and other disbursements made by the Department.
Income includes fees and charges for services provided on a full-cost basis to external customers as well as public repayment work.
For details of Income in the last period available, I refer the hon. Member to the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Resource Accounts 2005-06 (Page 50).
Copies of this report are available in the Library and are also available on the Cabinet Office website at:
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/reports/annualreport/index.asp
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how the donated asset reserve of her Department was reduced, as referred to on page 58 of her Department’s latest annual resource accounts. [123384]
Hilary Armstrong: The reduction in the donated asset reserve is set out in the table to which the hon. Member refers.
Departments: Advertising
Mr. Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 6 February 2007, Official Report, column 876W, on advertising, how much of the sum was spent on (a) advertorials and (b) sponsoring supplements. [124345]
Hilary Armstrong: In 2005-06, the Cabinet Office spent (a) nothing on advertorials and (b) £36,000 on sponsoring a supplement.
Departments: Official Visits
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent by her Department on (a) travel and (b) accommodation (i) within the UK and (ii) abroad in 2005-06. [122472]
Hilary Armstrong: Due to the way that accommodation and travel related costs are recorded on the Cabinet Office accounting system, it is not possible to extract the information in the format requested, without incurring disproportionate costs.
All official travel in the Department is undertaken strictly in accordance with the rules contained in the Cabinet Office management code. All ministerial travel related costs are undertaken fully in accordance with the rules set out on the ministerial code and ‘Travel by Ministers’, copies of which are available in the Library for the reference of Members.
Electronic Government
Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what criteria were used to assess the websites reviewed as part of the transformational government strategy; how many such websites have been designated for (a) closure and (b) continued existence, broken down by principal reason in each case. [123414]
Mr. McFadden: Departments are reviewing each of their websites in order to implement the Government’s overall objective to improve citizen and business focus, coherence, effectiveness and efficiency in the Government’s web services. Each departmental decision is taken in the light of all the relevant factors and it is not possible to attribute a single reason to each case.
So far in the review, 551 websites have been designated for closure. We will preserve and strengthen the availability and accessibility of information and services which are still relevant through a smaller number of high quality websites focused around audiences, including Directgov and Businesslink, and the main departmental websites. Where necessary, information will be maintained for archive or FOI purposes. To date, 26 sites, such as main departmental websites, have been designated as having a continuing role. Decisions on other websites are still under review.
Electronic Records Management
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what public expenditure was on the Exchange Rate Mechanism project in 2005-06, broken down by main budget heading. [123382]
Hilary Armstrong: I understand that the question is intended to refer to the Cabinet Office’s Electronic Records Management Project.
| Annual expenditure for 2005-06 | |
| £ | |
Defence
Armed Forces Recruitment
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many participants in the recent recruitment drive in Nuneaton on 4 and 5 November 2006 expressed an interest in joining the armed forces; [117170]
(2) what his assessment is of the effectiveness of the recruitment drive aimed at young Muslims in Nuneaton on 4 and 5 November 2006. [117171]
Derek Twigg [holding answers 22 January 2007]: To date, there have been no firm expressions of interest to join the Army as a result of the Look at Life (LAL) event run at Gamecock Barracks for youngsters from the Ahmadiyyan Muslim community. The primary purpose of the event sought to raise awareness of the Army and its place in society.
The LAL course was well received. The course was developed as part of the Army’s ongoing ‘Diversity Thread’ programme, which seeks to engage with key influencers and the target audience (16 to 33 years old for the Regular Army and 18 to 34 for the Territorial Army). This entails raising awareness of the Army and its place in society, building interest in the Army, its careers, and its values and standards, all with the intention of potentially securing commitment to join or simply to support the ideals of the service.
In this financial year over 1,000 young people from ethnic backgrounds have applied to join the Army as regular soldiers; with over 300 enlisting since 1 April 2006. This is very encouraging and represents an increase of 6 per cent. compared to the same period last year. Over 70 young people from ethnic backgrounds have applied to join the Army as officers—an increase of 70 per cent. over the same period last year—with 23 passing the Army Officer Selection Board—an increase of 109 per cent. over the same period last year.
While the growth in young people from ethnic backgrounds seeking to join the Army is modest, the annual increase is steady. For the current recruiting year, the Army is looking to recruit 4.1 per cent. of its intake from ethnic minority communities.
Armed Forces: Fire Services
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contingency plans there are for military personnel to fight fires in the event of a fire strike. [123822]
Mr. Ingram: Service personnel are only used to provide cover during fire strikes as a last resort. There are accordingly no armed forces personnel on permanent standby or permanently trained to provide emergency fire cover. In the event of a strike, fire services are expected to explore all other available options drawing on professional firefighters. This has been borne out recently, as military assistance was not required during Fire Brigade Union industrial action in Hertfordshire and Merseyside last year.
Armed Forces: Health Services
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel are being treated in civilian hospitals. [119166]
Derek Twigg: Military patients can be treated in any NHS hospital, which is the most effective way of enabling them to benefit from the latest advances in medical treatment and the recent major investments in NHS facilities. On average, on any one day, the number of military in-patients in NHS hospitals throughout the UK will be barely enough to fill two wards.
The total number of military in-patients across all UK hospitals are not collated on a regular basis. When a snapshot exercise was carried out on 10 October 2006, there were 33 service in-patients in the five NHS hospitals hosting Ministry of Defence hospital units (MDHUs) and 16 in-patients at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (RCDM) in Birmingham. A small number of individuals were also being treated at NHS hospitals who do not host one of our MDHUs. However, the number of personnel falling into this category are not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. It was estimated that there were around a further 15 to 25 service personnel as in-patients in NHS hospitals on 10 October 2006, in addition to those in the MDHU and RCDM hospitals.
Service personnel who require in-patient mental health care are treated at the Priory Group. On 7 February 2007, 31 military personnel were receiving in-patient treatment. This is part of our ongoing commitment to providing community-based mental health care access to high quality care without delay, providing regional care within easy reach of unit, base or home.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the policy to treat military patients in the NHS began. [122101]
Derek Twigg:
Service personnel have always been entitled to secondary care and community services in the NHS since it was formed in 1948. Following the decisions in 1990s to close the remaining military hospitals, the NHS now provides secondary care services to the military in the UK, with in-patient mental healthcare being provided by the Priory Group.
The geographical distribution of military bases within the UK means that this use of local secondary care facilities is the most effective way of providing excellent healthcare to the armed forces. In addition to this, we work closely with the University Hospital Birmingham Foundation Trust to provide both the Royal College of Defence medicine and a military managed ward which primarily supports those wounded on operations.
Armed Forces: Horses
Mr. Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many horses are stabled at the Army’s expense but not owned by them; and what the total annual cost of keeping them is; [121904]
(2) how many horses the Army owns; and what the total estimated cost is of keeping them. [121905]
Derek Twigg: The number of horses currently owned by the Army is 626.
The total estimated cost of keeping these horses is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Similarly, information on the number of horses stabled at the Army’s expense, but not owned by them, and the financial arrangements for keeping them are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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