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23 July 2007 : Column 655W—continued
Departments: Direct mail
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many contracts for direct mail his Department has entered into since November 2005; and what the value was of each. [151268]
Edward Miliband: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departments: Manpower
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many civil servants have been transferred from HM Treasury to (a) the Cabinet Office and (b) No. 10 Downing street since 27 June 2007. [148866]
Angela Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
Since 27 June, three civil servants have transferred from HM Treasury to the Cabinet Office and three to No. 10 Downing street.
Departments: Ministerial Red Boxes
John Hemming: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many ministerial red boxes her 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. [150419]
Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him by my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 17 July 2007, Official Report, column 239W.
Departments: Task Forces
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which task forces were (a) established and (b) abolished by Government departments since the last general election. [151264]
Edward Miliband: Information on department’s task forces in existence on 31 March 2006 is contained in “Public Bodies 2006”. This publication also lists those task forces that were wound up during 2005-06. “Public Bodies 2006” is available in the Libraries of the House.
Information for 2006-07 is in the process of being published by departments alongside the publication of departmental reports. A summary of this information will be published by the Cabinet Office after publication by departments.
Departments: Theft
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether items in his Department worth more than £100 have gone missing since May 2005. [151369]
Edward Miliband: Four items with a value of more than £100 have gone missing from this Department since May 2005.
Departments: Visits Abroad
Mrs. May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many overseas visits were made by (a) officials and (b) Ministers within his responsibility, and at what cost, in each year since 1997. [151653]
Edward Miliband: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 21 June 2007, Official Report, columns 2048-49W, by my predecessor the right hon. Member for North-West Durham (Hilary Armstrong) to the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Prisk). Information relating to Ministers overseas travel for 2006-07 will be published shortly.
Departments: Written Questions
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the role of special advisers is in producing answers to written parliamentary questions; and if he will make a statement. [151271]
Edward Miliband: Special advisers carry out their duties in accordance with the requirements of the “Code of Conduct for Special Advisers”.
Lord Birt
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster who occupies the office previously occupied by Lord Birt. [151416]
Edward Miliband: The room is currently occupied by staff of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Ministers: Official Residences
Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster for which official residential properties used by Ministers the council tax liability was met (a) by the Minister or Ministers occupying the property and (b) their Department in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07 and (iii) 2007-08. [151440]
Edward Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by the former Prime Minister to the hon. Members for Hemel Hempstead (Mike Penning) and Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 2 December 2005, Official Report, column 816W, and to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 15 January 2007, Official Report, column 789W.
Official Residences: Theft
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether any (a) works of art and (b) (i) valuable furniture, (ii) porcelain and (iii) other items have been reported missing from (A) 10 Downing street, (B) 11 Downing street and (C) Admiralty House since 1977. [152013]
Edward Miliband: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Olympic Games: Greater London
Mark Pritchard: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what discussions she has had with the National Sports Academy at Lilleshall, Shropshire on the prospect of it being used as an Olympic regional training facility for the 2012 Olympics. [150728]
Tessa Jowell: The first class sporting facilities at the National Sports Centre at Lilleshall will prove attractive to visiting teams. I have had no discussions with the National Sports Centre on this subject; however I look forward to visiting the centre shortly.
London 2012 has received over 700 applications from facilities across the UK that wish to feature in their Pre-Games Training Camp Guide, and is now carrying out an assessment and selection process.
Facilities will be notified of their inclusion in the Guide at the beginning of 2008—which will be distributed to National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) in August 2008.
Church Commissioners
Carbon Footprint
31. Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what steps the Commissioners are taking to reduce their carbon footprint. [151092]
Sir Stuart Bell: The national Church institutions are committed to the Church’s Shrinking the Footprint campaign and are working hard to understand current energy consumption, reduce energy use in absolute terms and promote environmental best practice.
Footprint is a substantial and ambitious campaign which flows from the universal support for such action given by General Synod and the personal commitment of the Archbishop of Canterbury as evidenced by the recent award made to him by the Parliamentary Renewable and Sustainable Energy Group.
Electoral Commission Committee
Electoral Commission: Annual Reports
Dr. Whitehead: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission when the annual report of the Electoral Commission for 2006-07 is to be published by the Commission. [151194]
Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission's Annual Report for 2006-07 was laid before Parliament on Thursday 19 July and has been published by the Commission as House of Commons Paper No. 851. Copies of the report are available to Members from the Vote Office.
House of Commons Commission
Carter Ruck and Partners
Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much the Commission paid in legal bills to Carter Ruck and Partners in each year since 1997. [151437]
Nick Harvey: The House of Commons Commission has paid £2,820 (inclusive of VAT) to Carter Ruck and Partners since 1 April 2003. Details of legal bills paid are not available for earlier years.
Legal Costs
Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how much was spent on legal (a) advice and (b) actions on behalf of (i) the Commission as a whole and (ii) individual members of the Commission in each year since 1997. [151438]
Nick Harvey: It is not possible to disaggregate legal costs specifically for the Commission or individual members of it. However, the total legal costs paid since 2003-04 have been:
| £ | |
Figures are not available prior to 2003-04.
The information provided is based on costs paid to the Treasury Solicitors who act on behalf of the House of Commons and disbursements incurred during claims. Types of cases and advice received include: Personal injury claims made against the House, employment tribunals, FOI appeals, advice on MPs allowances and expenses, Parliamentary Privilege Bill, judicial review proceedings, Legal Services Bill and air passenger duty.
The figures for 2004-05 to 2006-07 also include legal and project fees paid in order to resolve claims on Portcullis House and Normal Shaw South. These alone amounted to £96,154 (2004-05), £79,159 (2005-06) and £596,586 (2006-07).
Proof of Identity
Malcolm Bruce: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if he will take steps to replace the visitor stickers issued to visitors to the parliamentary estate with another form of temporary pass. [151877]
Nick Harvey: A new access control system for the parliamentary estate will be introduced in the autumn. Part of this project is to introduce an improved visitor management system, which is currently in development. The intention is to provide a paper visitor pass clipped to the person instead of the stickers used at present.
International Development
Afghanistan: Diarrhoea
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the recent outbreak of diarrhoea in Afghanistan. [150321]
Mr. Malik: The provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in Lashkar Gah has not been contacted by either the provincial health director or any other local medical providers alerting them to a recent diarrhoea outbreak in Helmand. Civil and military (CIMIC) teams who are actively engaged in health programmes in Lashkar Gah are also not aware of any outbreak. If more specific information can be provided, the PRT will make further inquiries.
The most effective way to deliver any aid to Afghanistan is to provide funding directly to the Afghan government. This ensures that the money is spent on what Afghans need and provides the best chance for building effective state institutions that will last. DFID provides around 80 per cent. of its aid in this way. Although we do not provide assistance specifically to the health sector, we are the largest donor to the Government's recurrent budget which, for example pays salaries of health workers.
In July 2006, DFID announced a £30 million programme of support to the Helmand Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (HARDP). This programme increases economic opportunities for the rural poor of Helmand through a series of programmes operated by the government of Afghanistan. These programmes will provide essential assistance to the people of Helmand, including better water and sanitation.
Mr. Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of medical supplies to combat the recent diarrhoea outbreak in Helmand, Afghanistan following security threats in the region. [150322]
Mr. Malik: The provincial reconstruction team (PRT) in Lashkar Gah has not been contacted by either the provincial health director or any other local medical providers alerting them to a recent diarrhoea outbreak in Helmand. Civil and military (CIMIC) teams who are actively engaged in health programmes in Lashkar Gah are also not aware of any outbreak. If more specific information can be provided, the PRT will make further inquiries.
DFID continues to help people have improved access to clean water and sanitation. In July 2006, DFID announced a £30 million programme of support to the Helmand Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (HARDP). This programme increases economic opportunities for the rural poor of Helmand through a series of programmes operated by the government of Afghanistan. These programmes will provide essential assistance to the people of Helmand, including better water and sanitation.
Africa: International Assistance
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the nature is of his Department's relationship with the Africa Progress Panel. [149301]
Mr. Thomas: The Africa Progress Panel's objective is to maintain the momentum for delivery of high level commitments to Africa's development to which DFID is committed. It has an important part to play in holding donors and African countries alike to account for the promises made for Africa in the G8 summits and elsewhere.
While DFID provides funds to the Africa Progress Panel, it is operationally independent. DFID is providing £1 million over three years (March 2007 to December 2010) to support a Secretariat that serves the panel, and cover the expenses of panel members. It is expected that the Africa Progress Panel will also be funded by others.
Departments: Postal Services
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what volume of correspondence his Department sent (a) by Royal Mail and (b) by other commercial delivery services in each of the last five years; and what the reasons were for the use of other commercial delivery services. [150456]
Mr. Malik: The following table shows the volume of mail sent by DFID using Royal Mail and other commercial carriers in the last five years. Other commercial carriers have been used on the grounds of urgency, value for money and security. The vast majority of the mail by commercial carrier is in respect of a point-to-point contracted service between our two UK offices.
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