| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
23 Oct 2007 : Column 220W—continued
| YOF/YCF London allocations 2006-07 | ||
| Local authority | YOF | YCF |
Leader of the House
Anniversaries: Oliver Cromwell
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Leader of the House what plans she has for Parliament to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the death of Oliver Cromwell. [159081]
Helen Goodman: My right hon. and Learned Friend the Leader of the House has no plans for such a commemoration, which would primarily be a matter for the House.
I understand my hon. and learned Friend will receive a substantive reply to this question from the hon. Member representing the House of Commons Commission.
Departments: Manpower
Andrew Selous: To ask the Leader of the House how many and what percentage of employees in her Office are above state retirement age. [158941]
Helen Goodman: The Leader of the House of Commons’ Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. Although the Cabinet Office currently has a compulsory retirement age of 65 for all grades, staff have the right to request to continue working beyond this age.
There are currently six employees in the Cabinet Office (0.4 per cent. of all staff) who are above the statutory retirement age of 65.
Specific figures for the Leader’s Office are not available. To protect the confidentiality of individuals, it is standard Government practice not to publish details relating to five or fewer individuals.
Departments: Official Hospitality
David Simpson: To ask the Leader of the House how much was spent by her Office on official hospitality in the last 12 months. [158898]
Helen Goodman: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons spent £5,823 in the financial year 2006-07 on entertainment expenses.
Draft Legislative Programme
Simon Hughes: To ask the Leader of the House if she will (a) publish and (b) place in the Library before 25 October all responses to the consultation on the draft legislative programme. [160297]
Mrs. May: To ask the Leader of the House (1) if she will place in the Library a copy of the responses to the consultations received so far on the draft legislative programme; [160205]
(2) which organisations and businesses have submitted responses to the consultation on the Government’s draft legislative programme; [160206]
(3) how many (a) written and (b) e-mailed submissions she has received since 11 July on the draft legislative programme in addition to those comments posted on the Cabinet Office website; and how many have been received from (i) individuals and (ii) corporations and organisations. [160207]
Helen Goodman: The Leader of the House of Commons has already committed herself to publishing a Summary of Consultation Responses, and she will do so at the start of the next Session.
International Development
Afghanistan: Females
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on the construction of the Women’s Park in Lashkar Gar, Afghanistan; what the objectives of the project are; how much has been allocated to the project; and if he will make a statement. [160228]
Mr. Malik: The recently completed “Women and Children Park” in Lashkar Gar was funded through the Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) fund, administered by the UK-led Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Helmand. QIPs in Helmand are funded through the joint DFID, MOD, and FCO Global Conflict Prevention Pool (GCPP). The GCPP QIPs fund has an overall budget of £9 million this financial year, including £3 million from DFID. The overall cost of the park was approximately £420,000.
The park is providing much needed recreational space and facilities for the people of Lashkar Gar and the surrounding area, in particular women and children. It was built in response to identified local needs, and agreed by the Governor of Helmand and relevant Government of Afghanistan line departments. Construction of the park was implemented by the Afghan NGO, Helping Afghan Farmers Organisation (HAFO). Much of the work was carried out using local labour. One of the first major events hosted at the park was a US-funded agricultural fair to promote legal livelihoods attended by 1,700 Afghans.
Departments: Manpower
Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many and what percentage of employees in (a) his Department and (b) each (i) executive agency and (ii) non-departmental public body funded by his Department are above state retirement age. [158937]
Mr. Malik: DFID has 33 UK-based staff above the state retirement age as of the end of September 2007. This represents 1.92 per cent. of our work force.
DFID does not have any staff in any executive agencies or non-departmental public bodies.
Departments: Official Hospitality
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was spent by his Department on official hospitality in the last 12 months. [158896]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Total spend on entertainment within administration cost budgets in the last 12 months was £245,500.
This figure includes working breakfasts and lunches, refreshments at meetings and official entertainment.
All entertainment is made in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on principles set out in Government Accounting.
Departments: Public Expenditure
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development by what methodology the annual net cash-releasing savings of £492 million per year by 2010-11 mentioned on page 238 of the Comprehensive Spending Review have been calculated. [159552]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: DFID, like all other Departments, has agreed to make value for money savings of at least 3 per cent. annual net cash-releasing gains on our total departmental budget and 5 per cent. annual real reductions in our administration budgets by 2010-11. As in the 2004 Spending Review, the methodology for assessing gains achieved by more poverty-focused allocation is based on econometric studies by Paul Collier and David Dollar showing that the impact of aid varies with countries’ per capita income and policy environment. Gains are also generated by improved performance of DFID’s portfolio, as measured by the scores awarded to projects in annual monitoring reviews.
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the main element will be of his Department’s value for money programme which will generate annual net cash-releasing savings of £492 million per year by 2010-11, as mentioned on page 238 of the Comprehensive Spending Review. [159553]
Mr. Douglas Alexander:
DFID, like all other Departments, has agreed to make value for money savings of at least 3 per cent. annual net cash-releasing gains on our total departmental budget and
5 per cent. annual real reductions in our administration budgets from a near cash resource departmental expenditure limit plus capital DEL baseline of £5,310 million. The gains on our programme budget will include allocative efficiency gains from more poverty-focused allocation of multilateral and bilateral aid, and efficiency gains from improved performance of our bilateral portfolio.
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how the increased capital expenditure for his Department announced in the Comprehensive Spending Review will be allocated. [159554]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: DFID’s increased capital budget will enable us to increase our contributions to effective multilateral organisations. Alongside a growing bilateral programme, spending through the multilateral helps us influence and improve the quality of the whole aid system, rather than just the money we spend directly. Our capital budget will also be used to finance debt relief and capital investments in partner countries.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |