Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
24 Oct 2007 : Column 325Wcontinued
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he has taken to protect (a) jobs in and (b) contracts held by Remploy. [157327]
Mrs. McGuire: We have guaranteed that there will be no compulsory redundancies for disabled people. This was clearly highlighted in the written statement to Parliament on 19 July 2006 and reaffirmed by the then Secretary of States statement on 22 May 2007.
Where Remploy are proposing that a factory will close, disabled employees will be offered a range of options including voluntary redundancy, early retirement or a job with another local employer on their current Remploy terms and conditions, including membership of Remploys pension scheme. Some disabled employees will have the opportunity to transfer to another Remploy factory.
We have guaranteed that no recommendation for factory closure will be agreed without full scrutiny by Ministers.
DWP Ministers are currently pressing the case with Government colleagues for Remploy to retain and receive good quality public procurement work.
Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average annual cost has been of administering (a) a fuel direct payment under the Third Party Deductions scheme and (b) each payment under other key benefit payments administered by his Department in each of the last five years. [159934]
Mr. Plaskitt: The information is not available.
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many free television licences were issued in (a) Warley constituency and (b) Sandwell Metropolitan borough council in each of the last five years. [160122]
James Purnell: I have been asked to reply.
TV Licensing, who administer free television licences for people aged 75 or over as agents for the BBC, are not able to provide geographical breakdowns of the number of free licences issued. However, the number of households with at least one person aged 75 or over claiming the winter fuel payment as at winter 2006-07 in the Warley constituency was 4,910 and 17,840 in Sandwell, according to Department for Work and Pensions records.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many citizens' juries were arranged for (a) his Department and (b) his Department's agencies in each year since 1997; which organisations were commissioned to conduct each citizens' jury; and what the cost was of each. [160018]
David Cairns: The Scotland office was established in July 1999 to advise on matters affecting the devolution settlement, as determined in the Scotland Act 1998. To date the Office has arranged no citizens juries.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what guidance his Department follows on the maximum time taken to respond to hon. Members' correspondence; and what performance against that target was in the most recent period for which figures are available. [158586]
David Cairns: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Edward Miliband), on 22 October 2007, Official Report, column 45W.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost was of buying new (a) laptops, (b) mobile telephones and (c) personal digital assistant devices for new Ministers in his Department following each Cabinet reshuffle since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [156728]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Prior to 2005, records were not maintained in the form requested. Since that date, there has been no such expenditure on laptops, mobile telephones or personal digital assistant devices.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many people were employed by his Department on 1 January in each of the last five years; and how many of these staff were (a) permanent employees, (b) temporary staff and (c) contractors. [158330]
David Cairns: The number of staff in the Office, broken down by grade and gender, is published in the Offices annual report, copies of which are held in the House Library. The Scotland Office has not employed any contractors.
The number of temporary staff is shown in the following table, the figures relate to the total number of temporary staffsometimes reflecting several temporary staff filling posts in succession. They do not reflect the total number of posts filled by temporary staff.
Number | |
Scotland Office and Office of the Advocate General for Scotland | |
Note: Prior to 2005-06, separate figures were not maintained for SO and OAG. |
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what policy changes his Department has implemented since 27 June 2007. [159282]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office is set up to advise on matters affecting the devolution settlement as provided in the Scotland Act 1998. Our direct policy responsibilities concern the conduct of elections to the Scottish Parliament and the relevant policy framework was put in place before the most recent elections held on 3 May.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many citizens juries have been arranged by his Department since June 2007; which organisations were commissioned to conduct each citizens jury; and what the estimated cost is of each exercise. [159489]
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many fixed penalty tickets were incurred by vehicles within the purview of his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what the total cost was. [157915]
David Cairns: The Scotland Office maintains the policy that road traffic violations, such as parking tickets and speeding fines, remain the responsibility of the individual and are not reimbursed from public funds. No costs were incurred by the Office in 2006-07.
The exception to this is the Government Car and Despatch Agency and I refer the hon. Member to his question answered on 18 October 2007, Official Report, column 1185W, by my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport (Jim Fitzpatrick).
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many official visits he and his predecessor made to (a) Scotland, (b) Wales and (c) Northern Ireland in each of the last five years. [154442]
Des Browne: I and my predecessor have made numerous official visits to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland during each of the last five years.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many overseas meetings he (a) has attended since his appointment and (b) plans to attend in his role as Secretary of State. [153865]
Des Browne: I have not attended any overseas meetings in my role as Secretary of State for Scotland and none are planned.
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings with charities and voluntary groups he has had since his appointment. [153866]
Des Browne: I have had a range of discussions with charities and voluntary groups since my appointment as Secretary of State for Scotland.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) off-licensed premises and (b) on-licensed premises had their licences revoked for selling alcohol to underage customers in each of the last four years. [159464]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 22 October 2007]: This information is not held centrally. Past and future statistical bulletins on licences to sell alcohol include the number of licences revoked, but do not indicate why. Licences may be revoked for a number of reasons or a variety of factors, including sales to children.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the (a) station name, (b) licence area and (c) character of service is of each of the radio stations licensed for broadcast in the UK. [160435]
James Purnell: The matter raised is the responsibility of the Regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which is accountable to Parliament. Accordingly, I have asked the chief executive of Ofcom to reply directly to the hon. Member. Copies of the chief executives letter will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the expected cost is of launching the Gaelic digital television service; and what the estimated annual running costs are. [160040]
James Purnell: I understand that the total revenue costs of setting up the channel (including promotion) are expected to be in the region of £1.27 million and the total capital requirements £1.5 million. The annual running costs of the channel, excluding distribution, are estimated to be £17.9 million.
These figures are dependent on the outcome of the BBC Trusts consideration of the proposals which are currently subject to a Public Value Test, as required under the BBC charter and agreement.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate his Department has made of the amount of radio listening which occurs through digital platforms. [159699]
James Purnell: The Department does not collect its own radio listening figures. However, radio listening data compiled by RAJAR for the second quarter 2007 show (a) that 26.2 per cent. of the population (adults15+) listened via a digital platform each week and (b) the total radio listening share by platform was:
Listening via | Percentage |
(1) Digital platforms consisting of 7 per cent. listening via DAB, 2.6 per cent. DTV, 1.5 per cent. internet and 1.7 per cent. unspecified. |
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many take-away restaurants which do not sell alcohol have been licensed under the Licensing Act 2003. [159701]
Mr. Sutcliffe: We do not hold this information centrally. The Licensing Act 2003 devolved the administration of the licensing regime to individual licensing authorities, and each licensing authority should hold information about licensed premises in their area.
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) ministers and (b) officials plan to attend the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final in an official capacity. [159144]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 18 October 2007]: Both my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I attended the Rugby World Cup Final in an official capacity as guests of the International Rugby Board.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people received funding from the Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme in each year in which it has been running; and how much was allocated under the Scheme in each year. [159703]
James Purnell: The Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme (TASS) was introduced in 2004. Details of the number of athletes it has supported and the level of funding are as follows:
Awards given | Funding (£ million) | Level of awards (£) | |
So far this year, more than 600 awards have been given.
In total, 2,714 athletes have received a TASS award during its first three years (as some athletes have received more than one annual award).
Next Section | Index | Home Page |