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3 Sep 2007 : Column 1791W—continued
Departments: Catering
Mr. Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what percentage of (a) beef, (b) sheep meat, (c) pork and (d) dairy products used in his Department in the most recent period for which figures are available were imported products. [150799]
Jonathan Shaw: My right hon. Friend the then Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs told the House on 8 March 2007 that he would commission work to determine the proportion of publicly procured food which is British, and place the information in the Library of the House by late autumn 2007 or sooner. My right hon. Friend the current Secretary of State will advise the House when this information is deposited in the Library of the House.
Departments: Disabled
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of people employed by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies are disabled. [153576]
Jonathan Shaw: The latest available data on the disability status of civil servants in Departments and agencies are as at 30 September 2006 and are published in “Civil Service Statistics 2006” at Table P. This document is produced by the Office for National Statistics and can be accessed from the following website addresses:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=2899&;Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=422
Declaration of a disability is voluntary.
Departments: Early Retirement
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many of his staff took early retirement in the last five years; at what cost; what grades of staff took early retirement; and what percentage of each grade took early retirement. [148816]
Mr. Woolas:
In the current financial year to date and the previous four financial years, 577 DEFRA employees have left the Department and its agencies under early retirement arrangements. The total cost to the Department of these exits was £56.820 million, including provision made at the time of each departure to meet related liabilities in future years. The following table sets out the breakdown of leavers by grade. Due to the fluctuating population of each grade at any
given time figures expressing the listed totals for each grade as percentages of the totals for the Department would be unreliable.
| Number | |
Departments: Employment Agencies
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much the Department paid in fees to recruitment agencies for (a) temporary and (b) permanent staff in each year since 1997. [151677]
Mr. Woolas: DEFRA came into being in June 2001.
From information held centrally, the core-Department's VAT inclusive expenditure on personnel engaged through employment agencies since 2001 is shown in the following table.
| Financial year | Expenditure (£) |
From information held centrally, the core-Department's VAT inclusive expenditure on recruitment consultants in each financial year commencing with 2002-03 is shown in the following table.
| Financial year | Expenditure (£) |
Recruitment agency fees are captured within the expenditure figures shown but could be identified separately only at disproportionate cost. The fees vary from assignment to assignment dependent on the factors relevant to a particular engagement including but not limited to the nature and complexity of the task specification; the personal skills set of the individual required; the state of the labour market; and regional factors.
Information for the financial year 2001-02 and expenditure by DEFRA’s Executive Agencies is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departments: Flint Bishop Solicitors
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have made payment to Flint Bishop solicitors since 1997. [151397]
Mr. Woolas: No payments have been made by my Department or its Agencies to Flint Bishop solicitors since 1997.
Departments: Flowers
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on flowers in the last 12 months. [153096]
Jonathan Shaw: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departments: Legislation
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what legislative provisions introduced by his Department and its predecessor since 1997 have not yet been brought into force. [149568]
Jonathan Shaw: My Department and its predecessors have been responsible for the introduction of 20 Acts since 1997 of which some provisions of the following Acts have still to be brought into force:
Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
Water Act 2003
Commons Act 2006
Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006
Animal Welfare Act 2006
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what legislative provisions introduced by his Department and its predecessors since 1997 have been repealed. [149586]
Jonathan Shaw: My Department and its predecessors have been responsible for the introduction of 20 Acts since 1997. Some provisions of the following Acts have been repealed.
Birds (Registration of Charges) Act 1997
Plant Varieties Act 1997
Animal Health (Amendment) Act 1998
Water Industry Act 1999
Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000
Water Act 2003
Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years have contained sunset clauses; and what plans he has for the future use of such clauses. [151841]
Jonathan Shaw: The following Bill, introduced by my Department in the last five years, has contained sunset clauses:
Water Bill (which became the Water Act 2003)
The appropriateness of a sunset clause for the whole or part of any proposed legislation is considered on a case-by-case basis. It is also addressed when a regulatory impact assessment relating to legislation is being prepared.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs which Bills introduced by his Department in the last five years did not contain sunset clauses; and if he will make a statement. [152487]
Jonathan Shaw: The following Acts, introduced as Bills by my Department in the last five years have not contained sunset clauses.
Animal Health Act 2002
Waste and Emissions Trading Act 2003
Hunting Act 2004
Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005
Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act 2006
Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act 2006
Commons Act 2006
Animal Welfare Act 2006
The appropriateness of a sunset clause for the whole or part of any proposed legislation is considered on a case by case basis. It is also addressed when a regulatory impact assessment relating to legislation is being prepared.
Departments: Manpower
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many press officers are employed by his Department. [153100]
Jonathan Shaw: The press office for core DEFRA consists of 23 full-time permanent press officer posts. Currently these posts are filled by 21 full-time permanent press officers and two temporary press officers.
Departments: Paper
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many reams of paper his Department (a) used and (b) recycled on average in weeks when Parliament was sitting in 2006-07. [150875]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 19 July 2007]: From information held centrally, between 1 November 2006 and 30 June 2007 the Department and its executive agencies used 129,028 reams of paper.
In financial year 2006-07, the Department and its executive agencies recycled 859,881 kilograms of paper.
Departments: Postal Services
Mr. Jenkins:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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. [150446]
Jonathan Shaw: From information held centrally, the core-Department has not used commercial delivery services other than Royal Mail.
The core-Department has issued the following volumes of correspondence by Royal Mail since 2003.
| Volume | |
Departments: Press
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to which periodicals his Department subscribes. [153092]
Jonathan Shaw: The Department currently takes 10 newspaper titles and 171 periodical titles through its library services. I am placing a copy of the full title listing of these in the Library of the House of Commons. Newspaper and periodical requirements are reviewed annually to ensure their continuing relevance to the Department’s changing business needs. As a result, some titles are cancelled and new ones subscribed to.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent by his Department on newspapers and magazines in the last 12 months. [153093]
Jonathan Shaw: DEFRA’s expenditure on newspapers and periodicals through its library services for the financial year 2006-07 was £72,000.
This figure excludes the spend on newspapers and periodicals by DEFRA local offices and the Department’s executive agencies. These figures could be compiled only at a disproportionate cost.
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