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23 Oct 2007 : Column 202W—continued
Office of Surveillance Commissioners: Inspections
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local authorities were inspected by the Office of the Surveillance Commissioners in each year since its creation. [158135]
Mr. McNulty: Inspections of local authorities conducted on behalf of the Chief Surveillance Commissioner commenced in 2001 when 47 were inspected. The number of local authorities inspected in subsequent years as follows.
| Number | |
Passports: Applications
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many and what percentage of first-time applicants were awarded UK passports from the Glasgow Passport Office within six to eight weeks of the date of application in the last period for which figures are available; [159183]
(2) how many first-time passport applicants in the UK who failed in their initial application for a UK passport were successful in their (a) second, (b) third and (c) fourth attempts in the last period for which figures are available; [159303]
(3) how many first-time passport applicants in Scotland who failed in their initial application for a UK passport were successful in their (a) second, (b) third and (c) fourth attempts in the last period for which figures are available. [159304]
Meg Hillier: The Identity and Passport Service does not hold data on the number of attempts an applicant for a UK passport must make to have an application accepted.
In the last five months, approximately 71,500 first- time passports were issued in Glasgow. Of these, 725 (1.0 per cent.) took six to eight weeks to complete as they were complex, non-straightforward cases.
Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many first-time passport applicants in the UK had their initial application refused in each year since 1997; [159306]
(2) how many first-time passport applicants from Ochil and South Perthshire had their initial application refused in each year since 1997; [159307]
(3) how many first-time passport applicants from Scotland had their initial application refused in each year since 1997. [159308]
Meg Hillier: Information is not available in the form requested. Identity and Passport Service statistics record the final outcome of applications and do not show whether the applications were initial or subsequent applications. Records of applications that do not result in the issue of a passport are broken down between those that failed because the applicant did not hold British nationality and those that were unsuccessful for any other reason. No breakdown by area or by application type is available and the information is not held for years before 2002. The available figures are as follows.
| 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | |
Sussex Police: Working Hours
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average percentage of their time police officers in Sussex Police spent (a) completing paperwork and (b) on patrol in each of the last five years. [157798]
Mr. McNulty: Data on time spent on patrol offers only a partial indication of policing activity, but 61.1 per cent. of police officer time in Sussex was spent on front-line policing in 2006-07, which includes time in station completing incident related paperwork.
I also refer the hon. Member to the reply provided by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 15 October 2007, Official Report, columns 537-39W.
Women and Equality
Age Discrimination
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what recent representations she has received on the application of age discrimination regulations to the sale of insurance policies and holidays to older people. [149529]
Barbara Follett: The Government are considering whether there is a case for introducing legislation to prohibit harmful age discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services as part of an Equality Bill. A public consultation ran from 12 June to 4 September, during which time around 750 responses were submitted on the subject of the possible legislation prohibiting age discrimination. Insurance policy sales and age-targeted holidays were among the issues raised, most notably by organisations representing older and young people, industry representatives and individuals. Both issues were also fully discussed at consultation events held in London and Edinburgh. We will publish information about the responses received in due course.
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Finance
Mrs. May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what the total estimated annual cost is of (a) salaries, (b) pension contributions and (c) bonuses of staff employed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. [157112]
Barbara Follett: When the new commission is at full complement, it is expected that the costs will be roughly as follows: salaries £20,000,000, pension contributions £4,400,000 and bonuses £400,000.
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Manpower
Mrs. May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many staff are employed by the Equality and Human Rights Commission. [157109]
Barbara Follett: There are currently 410 people employed by the commission including temporary staff. There are plans to increase the number to 518 by the end of the financial year.
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Marketing
Mrs. May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much was spent on (a) branding, (b) marketing and (c) website design in changing the title of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights to the Equality and Human Rights Commission. [157114]
Barbara Follett: There was no additional cost involved in changing the name.
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Redundancy
Mrs. May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many staff employed by (a) the Commission for Racial Equality, (b) the Disability Rights Commission and (c) the Equal Opportunities Commission were made redundant prior to the establishment of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. [157107]
Barbara Follett: No staff were made redundant from any of the legacy commissions. However, the three commissions ran voluntary severance schemes and the following numbers left the commissions: the CRE had 78 leavers, the DRC had 68 leavers and the EOC had 39 leavers.
Rape: Victim Support Schemes
Mrs. May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what meetings she has held with ministerial colleagues to discuss the possible closure of rape crisis centres. [157119]
Barbara Follett: This is an issue which I take very seriously and which I am discussing with other Ministers.
This Government are committed to putting victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. The cross-Government sexual violence and abuse action plan which we published earlier this year sets out our commitment to supporting victims of sexual assault. We have increased the capacity and stability in support services for victims by extending the network of sexual assault referral centres, with the intention of 30 being in place by the end of this financial year. There has also been significant investment in the specialist voluntary sector, including rape crisis centres. That includes an increase in the funding made available this year.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts: Finance
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much his Department (a) allocated for spending and (b) spent on (i) the arts, (ii) sport and (iii) heritage in each year since 1997 in 2007-08 prices. [158829]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 17 October 2007]: The table shows how much the Department for Culture, Media and Sport allocated and spent on the arts, sport and heritage from 1997 to 2007-08 in 2007-08 prices. Spend figures for 2007-08 are not yet available.
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