Written Answers to Questions

Monday 8 October 2007

Duchy of Lancaster

10 Downing Street

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what changes he has made to No. 10 Downing street since 27 June 2007 to make it more environmentally friendly. [154088]

Phil Hope: No. 10 Downing street forms an integral part of the Cabinet Office estate.

The Cabinet Office is committed to contribution to the goals, priorities and principles of the UK Government sustainable development strategy, “Securing the Future”. We are equally committed to achieving the targets for sustainable operations on the Government estate launched by the Prime Minister in June 2006. To this end the Cabinet Office has implemented a system of environmental management and improvement, which enables us to measure and monitor our impact on the environment, commit to improvements within the set time frames and report publicly on progress.

10 Downing Street: Repairs and Maintenance

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent on refurbishments and improvements to No. 10 Downing street in (a) June and (b) July 2007. [153348]

Edward Miliband: Costs incurred on refurbishments and improvements to No. 10 Downing street in the 2007-08 financial year, will be available only when the Department's resource accounts are fully audited and laid before Parliament. This is expected to be before the 2008 summer recess.

Auctions

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the Government-approved auction houses. [153875]

Gillian Merron: The Government do not hold a list of approved auction houses. Individual departments decide upon which auction houses to use, according to their individual need.

Information regarding Government auctions can be found at the Direct Gov website at http://www.direct. gov.uk/en/HI1/Help/YourQuestions/DG_10014697. A copy of which is also available in the Libraries of the House.

Charities: Finance

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the Government’s policy is on paying foregone interest when money owed or promised to charities is delayed. [154537]


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Phil Hope: Public sector organisations should: use good commercial practice in managing the flows of expenditure and commitments they deal with; settle their bills on time within contractual terms in line with The Better Payments Practice Code; and be bound by The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1988. In relation to grants, once an agreement has been made and payment schedules agreed to, public sector organisations should honour these in the same way as they would any commercial or contractual arrangements. Government departments are required to note as exceptional any interest payments in relation to late payments in their resource accounts. This is set out in the “Managing Public Money” guidance issued by HM Treasury on sound financial management of public funds.

Departments: Buildings

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library a copy of the design and procurement option under consideration for the refurbishment for the heritage Cabinet Office estate. [151282]

Edward Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that the then Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, my right hon. Friend the Member for North-West Durham (Hilary Armstrong) gave to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire (Mr. Heald) on 8 March 2007, Official Report, column 2184W.

Departments: Freedom of Information

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 16 July 2007, Official Report, column 35W, on departments: freedom of information, and the Ministry of Justice aggregated statistics, what information has been requested of his Department under the Act in the last six months. [153617]

Edward Miliband: Information relating to Freedom of Information and Environmental Information requests is published on a quarterly basis by the Ministry of Justice. Information for January to March 2007 was published on 25 June 2007, Official Report, column 10WS, copies of the document are in the Libraries of the House. Information for April to June 2007 is due to be published in the autumn. It is not the Government's normal practice to disclose details of the content of such requests.

Departments: Official Hospitality

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many receptions have been held by his Department since May 2005; broken down by (a) date, (b) venue, (c) purpose, (d) host, (e) who paid, (f) estimated attendance and (g) cost to his Department. [151278]

Edward Miliband: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.


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Departments: Railways

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much was spent by his Department on first class train tickets in the last 12 months. [153291]

Edward Miliband: This information is available only at disproportionate cost.

Emergency Services: Training

Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what arrangements there are for collaboration between the Emergency Planning College and the Fire Service College for training in multi-agency response. [155485]

Edward Miliband: The types of training delivered by the Fire Service College and the Emergency Planning College reflect their differing but complementary missions. The Fire Service College focuses on specialist training at the operational (bronze), tactical (silver) and strategic (gold) levels, and over 90 per cent. of its students are from the fire and rescue service. As officers progress through the levels, they receive increasing exposure to multi-agency operations. In contrast, the Emergency Planning College’s courses bring together all the many services and organisations involved in multi-agency working at the strategic (gold) level in large-scale emergencies, including non-blue light scenarios such as influenza. As a result, fire and rescue service students comprise less than 10 per cent. of the Emergency Planning College’s intake.

In order to maximise the UK’s resilience to emergencies the Emergency Planning College and Fire Service College collaborate to ensure that their training programmes are consistent with their responsibilities, meet their respective customers’ requirements and achieve synergy. The overall co-ordination is effected through periodic meetings at senior and middle management levels of the major providers of multi-agency training, including the Fire Service and Emergency Planning Colleges and the National Policing Improvement Agency.

Minister for the Olympics and for London

Mrs. May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the total estimated annual cost is of (a) expenses, (b) salary, (c) office space, (d) administrative support and (e) special advisers for the Minister for the Olympics. [154700]

Tessa Jowell: I have been asked to reply.

The cost of Cabinet Office Ministers’ offices will be accounted for in the Department's annual report and accounts for 2007-08 when accounts have been finalised. A list of special advisers by Department and pay band will be published in due course. Details of ministerial salaries are available in the House Library and at:


8 Oct 2007 : Column 4W

Non-Profit Making Associations

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what record has been kept of charities and social enterprises launched as part of Government initiatives since 1997. [154605]

Phil Hope: No central record is kept of the number of the number of charities or social enterprises launched as part of Government initiatives.

Where an independent charity or social enterprise is launched as part of a Government initiative, the relevant Government department would maintain formal records. The Office of the Third Sector keeps both electronic and paper records of the initiatives it has launched.

Non-Profit Making Associations: Grants

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much grant funding was given to third sector organisations by (a) the Active Community Directors’ and (b) the Social Enterprise Unit in each year of their operation. [154474]

Phil Hope: The Office of the Third Sector (OTS) was created from the Active Communities Directorate (ACD) of the Home Office and the Social Enterprise Unit of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) as a machinery of government change in May 2006.

Audited information on expenditure by the ACD in the Home Office and the Social Enterprise Unit in the DTI is not available separately. Recorded grant funding by the ACD, based on internal outturn data of grants paid to the sector in each financial year was as follows:

£

1998-99

11,269,348

1999-2000

15,705,645

2000-01

18,894,849

2001-02

28,146,399

2002-03

44,119,332

2003-04

63,767,427

2004-05

107,780,463

2005-06

154,824,807


The Social Enterprise made a small number of grants during its lifetime totalling less than £1 million between its creation in October 2001 and the transfer of funding to the Office of the Third Sector in May 2006.

Details of the transfer of grants in 2006-07 from the Home Office and the Department of Trade and Industry to the Cabinet Office are published in the Central Government Supply Estimates (2006-07), Winter Supplementary Estimates and New Estimates HC 2 and in the Central Government Supply Estimates (2006-07), Spring Supplementary Estimates HC 293.

Office of the Third Sector

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the purpose is of the review of the Office of the Third Sector; and how long it is planned to take. [154540]


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Phil Hope: The purpose of the review was to examine the structure and skills set in the Office of the Third Sector.

The review process ran from January to April 2007. This was implemented and the new structure came into effect on 4 June 2007.

Greg Clark: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the results of the review of the Office of the Third Sector will be made publicly available. [154603]

Phil Hope: The review considered the structure and skills set of the Office of the Third Sector. The result of this review is the new structure that came into effect on 4 June 2007. An overview of this structure is publicly available on the Office of the Third sector website: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/third_sector/, a copy of which I have placed in the Library of the House.

Terrorism: Memorial Day

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what plans she has to promote and contribute towards the European Union's Memorial Day for the victims of terrorism, in 2008; and if she will make a statement. [154099]

Tessa Jowell: Plans are still being developed at the EU for the 2008 European Union's Memorial Day for the victims of terrorism, it is therefore too early to give details of any contribution. However, as in previous years, we will make information available to the 2008 Memorial Day through appropriate mechanisms such as the 7 July Assistance Centre Newsletter.

Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library a copy of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit report on variable charging for domestic rubbish collection. [153811]

Edward Miliband: The Strategy Unit has not published a specific report on variable charging for domestic rubbish collection. Its report “Waste Not, Want Not”, published in November 2002, looked at how we manage waste overall in England and considered a range of financial incentives to encourage householders to reduce and recycle more waste, including variable charging. The Government are currently consulting on proposals to allow authorities to introduce local variable waste charging following publication of the Waste Strategy 2007.

The Strategy Unit's “Waste Not, Want Not”, report is available at

The Waste Strategy for England 2007 is available at


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Wales

Brofiscan Quarry

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what representations he has received about the polluting of Brofiscan Quarry in South Wales. [154585]

Mr. Hain: I have received two approaches on the subject, both of which I referred to the Welsh Assembly Government, which now has oversight of environmental regulation in Wales.

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales who will be liable for the cost of the damage caused by the polluting of Brofiscan Quarry in South Wales. [154583]

Mr. Hain: I understand that the Environment Agency is currently investigating the matter of responsibility for remediation costs, and is in contact with several companies and individuals.

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the cost of the damage caused by the polluting of Brofiscan Quarry in South Wales. [154584]

Mr. Hain: None. However, a preliminary appraisal has been undertaken by the Environment Agency. I understand that the full remediation options cannot be finalised until all current inspection work is completed.

Departments: Press

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales to which periodicals his Department subscribes. [153247]

Mr. Hain: The information is as follows:


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