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18 July 2007 : Column 358W—continued
Mediation
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment his Department has made of the level of awards made to injured parties in employment disputes who have (a) settled and (b) not settled their cases through mediation. [150099]
Mr. McFadden: Mediation is a confidential process, private to the parties involved. No award is made in relation to cases that are settled through a mediation process prior to a tribunal hearing.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what information his Department makes available to the public on mediation in employment disputes; how this information is made available; and if he will make a statement. [150104]
Mr. McFadden: BERR makes information available to the public on employment dispute resolution through the Directgov and Business Link websites. BERR also funds the work of the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) including the provision of mediation and conciliation for employment disputes.
Parental Leave: Tamworth
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what estimate his Department has made of the number of people from low income families in Tamworth constituency taking (a) paternity leave and (b) maternity leave in the last period for which figures are available. [150304]
Mr. McFadden: The most recent estimates of take-up of maternity and paternity leave are based on the Maternity and Paternity Rights and Benefits in Britain: Survey of Parents, conducted in 2005. The survey is based on a random sample of mothers who had a baby in December 2003 and their partners.
Of mothers in paid work, all took at least some of their entitlement to maternity leave. 93 per cent. of fathers took some time off around the time of the birth. Of the 93 per cent. who took some time off, 79 per cent. took paternity leave.
The Department does not collect data on low income families so has not estimated the number of low income families which have taken up paternity or maternity leave. The Department does not collect data on take-up of maternity and paternity leave at constituency level.
Post Office: Land
Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the sites being considered by the Government for release for development of affordable homes include sites owned by the Post Office. [150101]
Mr. Iain Wright [holding answer 16 July 2007]: I have been asked to reply.
No. The recent review of surplus land was directed at central Government Departments and their agencies and as Royal Mail Holdings, of which Post Office Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary, is a self-financing public corporation, they were not included in the review.
Regional Development Agencies: Official Hospitality
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the expenditure of each regional development agency was on hospitality and entertainment in each year since 1997. [148912]
Mr. Timms: The following table shows the regional development agencies’ (RDAs) expenditure on hospitality and corporate entertainment since their creation to the last full financial year. There are some variances between RDAs in the way this expenditure is classified and recorded.
| RDA | 1999-2000 | 2000-01 | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 |
| (1) Exceptional hospitality costs in respect of the 2002 Ryder Cup. This was one off expenditure giving significant coverage to the West Midlands around the globe. | ||||||||
Regional Planning and Development: South West Region
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment the Minister for the South West has made of the regional strategy for the South West. [148286]
Mr. Bradshaw [holding answer 9 July 2007]: I have been asked to reply.
There are two regional strategies—the regional spatial strategy and the regional economic strategy. As the ‘Governance of Britain’ (Cmd 7170) set out, as the Minister for the South West, along with the other regional Ministers, I will advise the relevant Secretary of State on the approval of regional strategies.
Wales
Departments: Legislation
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what legislative provisions introduced by his Department since 1997 have been repealed; [149699]
(2) what legislative provisions introduced by his Department since 1997 have not yet been brought into force. [149700]
Mr. Hain: The information is as follows:
Parts have been repealed by the Government of Wales Act 2006 as set out in schedule 12 of that Act.
The entire Act was brought into force on 26 November 2003. Parts of schedule 1 and 3 were repealed by the NHS (Consequential Provisions) Act 2007; Part of schedule 2 was repealed by the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2005 and part of schedule 3 by the Government of Wales Act 2006.
The entire Act has been brought into force. The substantive provisions were brought into force by three commencement orders, with effect from dates between 1 January and 20 July 2005; the rest had come into force on Royal Assent.
Sections 2, 6-11 and 65(2) were repealed by the Government of Wales Act 2006. Parts of schedule 2 (which contains amendments of other enactments) have been repealed by the Government of Wales Act 2006, the Health Act 2006, the NHS (Consequential Provisions) Act 2007, and the Education and Inspections Act 2006. Part of section 54 was repealed by the Public Audit (Wales) Act 2004 (Relaxation of Restriction on Disclosure) Order 2005.
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales Act 2005
The Act has been brought into force on 12 October 2005, except for section 20 and paragraph 15(5) of schedule 1; as a consequence of the Government of Wales Act 2006, the following provisions have been repealed with effect from 25 May 2007:
sections 12(9), 16(9), 21(11), 23(6), 24(2)(b) and (3), 44(3) and parts of schedules 1 and 6.
Commissioner for Older People (Wales) Act 2006
The entire Act has been brought into force. The substantive provisions were brought into force with effect from 14 October 2006; the rest had come into force on Royal Assent.
Parts of section 27(1) (definitions) have been repealed as a consequence of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and changes in NHS legislation. Section 28(6) has been repealed as a consequence of the Government of Wales Act 2006. The repeals were made by the Government of Wales Act 2006 (Consequential Modifications and Transitional Provisions) Order 2007 and the NHS (Consequential Provisions) Act 2007.
The entire Act has been brought into force. The substantive provisions were brought into force with effect from 26 May 2006; the rest had come into force on Royal Assent.
Sections 2(6) and (7) and 5(9) were repealed as a consequence of the Government of Wales Act 2006 by the Government of Wales Act 2006 (Consequential Modifications and Transitional Provisions) Order 2007.
No provisions have been repealed and the Act has now come into force in accordance with section 161 except for sections 107, 108 and 110 to 115 which will only come into force in accordance with section 105.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what criminal offences have been introduced by his Department in primary legislation since October 2006. [149702]
Ministerial Red Boxes
John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many ministerial red boxes his Department bought in each of the last five years; what the cost of each was; who the suppliers were; and what tendering process was used in selecting them. [150417]
Mr. Hain: Ministerial boxes are used by successive Ministers over many years. No new boxes have been ordered in the last five years.
Any new ones would be ordered through contracts put in place by the Ministry of Justice.
Flags
Mr. Paul Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will hold discussions with the First Minister on the flying of the Union Flag on UK Government buildings in Wales. [150220]
Mr. Hain: In line with the Government’s decision to relax the rules for flying the Union Flag on Government buildings, while consultation on changing the rules takes place, the flying of the Union Flag on UK Government buildings in Wales is a matter for the individual Departments.
Gender Identity Disorder
Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of Health Commission Wales on the legal requirement to provide treatment for gender dysphoria and the implications for institutions providing services in England for Welsh patients; and if he will make a statement. [149527]
Mr. Hain: The responsibility for health in Wales has been devolved to the Welsh Assembly Government. I have regular discussions with the First Minister on a range of issues including the commissioning of services by the NHS in Wales.
It is a legal requirement for health bodies to ensure that they do not impose a ‘blanket ban’ on particular procedures or diagnoses without taking regard of the individual circumstances in each case. However, it is up to the local health boards in Wales to make decisions on setting local priorities for the commissioning and funding of services.
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