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4 Jun 2007 : Column 40W—continued
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the total staffing budget available to David Freud for his review of the welfare system was; and what proportion of this budget was available to hire staff from outside his Department; [135220]
(2) how many staff (a) from his Department and (b) from outside his Department were involved in drafting the final report of David Freud’s review of the welfare system, broken down by job title and pay grade; [135224]
(3) what David Freud’s involvement was in selecting staff to work on his review of the welfare system; and if he will make a statement; [135225]
(4) how many civil servants from his Department worked on David Freud’s review of the welfare system, broken down by civil service grade. [135227]
Mr. Jim Murphy: David Freud involved officials from across the Department in his review and was supported by a secretariat of three officials on a full-time basis and two officials on a part-time basis. The breakdown by civil service grade is illustrated as follows.
| Civil service grade | Full-time basis | Part-time basis |
David Freud selected the Head of his Secretariat from two potential appointees put forward by the Department. The remaining members of the secretariat were assigned to the work by the Department.
No specific budget was allocated for the review. The costs of the staff that formed the secretariat for the review were borne within the Department’s overall staffing allocation.
Church Commissioners
Historic Buildings: Conservation
John Mann: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what plans the Commissioners have to conserve the Priory Gatehouse in Worksop. [139658]
Sir Stuart Bell: Worksop Priory is an important church founded in 1103. However, the Church Commissioners have not made any plans in relation to its conservation. Such plans are a matter for the individual parishes.
Legal Opinion: Expenditure
Grant Shapps: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners how much was spent by the Commissioners on legal fees in each of the last five years. [139410]
Sir Stuart Bell:
Legal fees incurred by the Commissioners in the last five years (less income from
third parties for legal work, legal fees charged to the Commissioners by external firms and the cost of outsourced legal work) are as follows.
| Total net cost (£) | |
Property: Rents
Grant Shapps: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners how much was received by the Church Commissioners from the letting of properties in each of the last five years. [139342]
Sir Stuart Bell: The Commissioners disclose income from property investments (net of expenses) in their annual report and accounts, a copy of which is placed in the House of Commons Library. The figures for the last five years are as follows.
| £ million | |
Public Relations: Expenditure
Grant Shapps: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners how much was spent by the Commissioners on public relations in each of the last five years. [139414]
Sir Stuart Bell: The Commissioners’ share of the cost of the National Church Institutions’ Communications Department and the cost of producing and printing their annual report (which is not purely a public relations exercise but also a statutory document) have, in the last five years, been as follows.
| Total cost (£) | |
Duchy of Lancaster
10 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance
Mr. Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the cost of redecoration and refurbishment in (a) Number 10 Downing street and (b) the flat above Number 11 Downing street has been since February 2007, broken down by month. [140005]
Hilary Armstrong: Information will be accounted for in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Resource Accounts when these have been audited.
Charities: Cross Border Co-operation
David Mundell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what joint arrangements the Charity Commissioners and the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator have in place for dealing with cross-border operation of charities between Scotland and England where the charity is based in (a) England but operates in Scotland and (b) Scotland but operates in England. [138545]
Edward Miliband: The Charity Commission and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator have published a Memorandum of Understanding which is based on the principles of consultation, co-operation and co-ordination which underpin how they work together. It sets out the circumstances in which the Commission and OSCR will share information and collaborate operationally where a common regulatory approach is required. Both organisations are committed to minimise the burden of dual regulation for those charities which operate across both jurisdictions.
Charities: Public Sector
Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the Government plan to make a public response to the Charity Commissioner's Stand and Deliver report; and if she will make a statement. [139720]
Edward Miliband: Alongside other surveys, the Stand and Deliver report makes a contribution to understanding third sector organisations' attitudes and experiences of public service delivery. The Government will continue to draw on such insights as we develop policy.
Delivery Unit
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 16 May 2007, Official Report, columns 795-96W, on the Delivery Unit, on what dates the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit held stocktake meetings with the Prime Minister in 2007. [139885]
Hilary Armstrong: The Prime Minister speaks at a wide range of meetings and meets with a large range of organisations and as was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 16 May 2007, Official Report, columns 795-6W, on the Delivery Unit, on what dates the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit held stocktake meetings with the Chancellor of the Exchequer in 2007. [139893]
Hilary Armstrong: The Chancellor of the Exchequer speaks at a wide range of meetings and meets with a large range of organisations and as was the case with previous administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Departments: Advertising
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) which (a) advertising agencies and (b) other organisations supplied consultancy services for advertising campaigns for her Office in each of the last five years; and what the cost of these services was; [139441]
(2) how much was spent on advertising by her Office in each of the last five years. [139530]
Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office does not commission consultancy services for advertising campaigns from advertising agencies and has not done so in the last five years. For the cost of advertising I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 6 February 2006, Official Report, column 849W.
Departments: Epilepsy
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people with epilepsy are employed by her Department; and if she will make a statement. [139102]
Hilary Armstrong: Under the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, people have a right to decide if they wish to disclose a disability. These data are stored confidentially and therefore not disclosed.
Departments: Ministerial Policy Advisors
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many of (a) her Department’s and (b) Number 10 Downing street’s special advisers were on (i) paid and (ii) unpaid leave in order to assist with party political matters under section 22 (iii) of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers on 16 May 2007; and how many days’ leave each adviser was granted. [140117]
Hilary Armstrong: Special advisers’ involvement in party political matters is conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, including section 22 (iii), and the guidance issued by the Cabinet Secretary in December 2006 and May 2007, copies of which are in the Libraries of the House.
Departments: Property
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was raised from the sale of departmental property in each of the last five years. [139322]
Hilary Armstrong: The Cabinet Office received £4.2 million from the sale of freehold property in 2003-04. No other property was sold in the past five years.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was received by her Department from the letting of its properties in each of the last five years. [139341]
Hilary Armstrong: Information on receipts including rental income is published annually in the Department’s accounts.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent estimate has been made of the value of the Department's property portfolio. [139385]
Hilary Armstrong: Information on the valuation of the Department's property portfolio is reported in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Resource Accounts 2005-06, available in the House of Commons Library. Subject to the National Audit Office's annual audit, the Annual Report and Resource Accounts for 2006-07 are expected to be published towards the end of July 2007.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the total cost of leasing departmental buildings and office space was for (a) her Department and (b) its agencies in each of the last five years. [139539]
Hilary Armstrong: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departments: Public Relations
Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent by the Cabinet Office on public relations in each of the last five years. [139417]
Hilary Armstrong: Expenditure on public relations is not separately identifiable on the Cabinet Office Resource Accounting System. The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Disadvantaged: Nottingham
Mr. Allen: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress has been made since the visit of her team to Nottingham on 5 March in convening a Joint National-Local Steering Group on Early Intervention in Nottingham; and if she will make a statement. [139872]
Hilary Armstrong: I am keen to support Nottingham’s proposals for developing the idea of ‘early intervention city’. My officials have already attended a meeting convened by One Nottingham to brief them on the national social exclusion policy context and they have indicated that they will attend quarterly steering groups convened by local partners. Other relevant Departments will also offer support to One Nottingham.
Maternity Services
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress she has made with plans to develop better health-led support from pre-birth to age two with midwives and nurses referred to in her announcement of 11 September 2006. [140139]
Hilary Armstrong: Following a large number of applications from PCTs and LAs, 10 health-led parenting pilots, based on the extremely successful Nurse-Family Partnership programme, were selected earlier in the year and went live across England on 2 April 2007. These pilots will provide structured and intensive home visiting to disadvantaged mothers from early pregnancy until the child is aged two. The pilot sites are already being successful in recruiting the first families to take part in the programme.
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