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30 Oct 2007 : Column 1075W—continued
Departments: Manpower
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many (a) full-time, (b) part-time and (c) voluntary (i) special advisers, (ii) consultants and (iii) secondees worked for his Department in each month since its inception; and if he will make a statement. [161766]
Edward Miliband: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Departments: Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) whether Mr. Bob Shrum has been allocated space to work within (a) the Cabinet Office and (b) Downing Street offices; [160607]
(2) whether any funding from the public purse has been provided to (a) Mr. Bob Shrum and (b) a company with which Mr. Bob Shrum is associated for (i) speech writing, (ii) political consultancy and (iii) advisory purposes by (A) the Cabinet Office and (B) Downing Street. [160608]
Edward Miliband: Mr. Bob Shrum has not been allocated an office or provided with a salary or any other payments from the Cabinet Office or 10 Downing street.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether any of his Department's special advisers have declared a conflict of interest. [160787]
Edward Miliband: Special advisers are appointed under the terms and conditions set out in the “Model Contract for Special Advisers”. Copies of the “Model Contract” are available in the Library of the House for the reference of Members.
Departments: Public Expenditure
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in which financial years since 2001 his Department’s outturn for its capital budget at the end of the year was less than planned at the beginning of the year; and what the (a) value and (b) reason for the underspend was in each case. [160330]
Gillian Merron: The information is contained in the Cabinet Office annual reports and resource accounts for each financial year. Copies of which are available in the Libraries of the House for the reference of Members.
Food
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what progress the Cabinet Office’s Strategy Unit is making in its project on food and food policy; which (a) individuals and (b) organisations are contributing to the project; what work has been undertaken on the project; what areas of food policy the project (i) has covered and (ii) will cover; which (A) Government departments and (B) other bodies are being asked to contribute to the review; what the content of these contributions is in each case; when he plans to publish a report on the project; and if he will make a statement. [161718]
Edward Miliband: The Strategy Unit project on food and food policy in the UK is examining trends in the production and consumption of food, the key drivers of those trends and the implications for the wider economy, society and the environment. It will look at the opportunities and challenges facing the food system, including issues such as diet’s contribution to public health, food safety, changing consumer tastes and preferences, and environmental sustainability.
The project team is drawn from the Strategy Unit, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Food Standards Agency, working closely with the Department of Health, and is calling on expertise and inputs from across Government. The project is in an initial analytical phase; later phases will
draw out wider policy implications. The project team will be consulting with interested stakeholders from civic society, industry and academia later in the year.
The project is expected to conclude in the spring of 2008; the format of final outputs and publication plans have yet to be decided.
Michael Ellam
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what date the decision was taken to appoint Michael Ellam as the new Downing street Head of Communications; and what appointment process was followed. [146431]
Edward Miliband: Michael Ellam was appointed as the Downing street director of communications and Prime Minister’s official spokesman on 27 June, following standard processes for an internal move within the civil service.
Official Residences: Dorneywood
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library a copy of the guidance on the use of Dorneywood by Ministers and civil servants for conferences, away days and other functions. [158687]
Gillian Merron: Guidance on the use of official residences is set out in the “Ministerial Code”. Dorneywood is held in Trust for use as an official residence, as has been the case under successive administrations. My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has the use of Dorneywood as an official residence. He is keen to ensure that other Ministers are able to use Dorneywood for official engagements and is currently in discussions with the Trustees of Dorneywood about such use.
Whips
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many rooms in Number 12 Downing Street are allocated to (a) Government Whips, (b) communications and (c) special advisers. [159886]
Edward Miliband: Offices in No. 12 Downing street are used by the Government Whip’s office and communications staff.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts Council of England: Grants
Jeff Ennis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much grant aid the Arts Council for England has provided to (a) opera, (b) ballet and (c) brass bands over the last five years. [161480]
Margaret Hodge: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Betting
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which organisations responded to his Department's May 2003 position papers on the reform of betting legislation. [161860]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Our records show that the Racecourse Association, the National Joint Pitch Council, the Horserace Betting Levy Board, Ladbrokes, William Hill, the Sporting Exchange and the Association of British Bookmakers responded to my Department's May 2003 position papers on the reform of betting legislation.
British Waterways Board: Finance
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department plans to make a financial contribution to British Waterways; whether he has had discussions with British Waterways on funding; and if he will make a statement. [160716]
Margaret Hodge: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in time available before Prorogation.
Commonwealth Games
Mr. Marshall: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which UK Government Ministers will attend the announcement of the host city of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Sri Lanka on 9 November. [161467]
James Purnell: There are no plans at this stage for a UK Government Minister to attend the announcement of the host city of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Sri Lanka on 9 November.
The Prime Minister and UK Government have actively supported Glasgow’s bid by providing a number of guarantees and agreements in principle, should the bid be successful. It will be supporting the bid in the days ahead.
Cultural Heritage: Databases
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what his Department’s policy is on the creation of digital records of the UK’s cultural assets. [160599]
Margaret Hodge: Many of our cultural institutions are creating digital records of their collections. We consider this to be important in terms of preserving those collections and making them available online to the widest possible audiences. To support this, we recently announced £25 million of new funding to secure the future of the national and regional film archives and make them more accessible.
We will shortly announce an archive review which will provide a basis for a digital strategy for culture in response to the European Commission’s European Digital Library proposals.
Departments: Civil Proceedings
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many civil law suits have been brought against his Department based either wholly or partially on grounds provided by the Human Rights Act 1998; how many were settled out of court, before a court judgment was delivered; and how much such settlements cost the public purse since 1998. [160703]
Margaret Hodge: It has not proved possible to respond to the right hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Departments: Cost-effectiveness
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what efficiency savings his Department was required to make as part of its Spending Review 2004 SR04 targets; what efficiency projects have been undertaken in the Department in pursuit of those targets; on what date each was initiated; and how much each was predicted to contribute to the SR04 target. [160553]
Margaret Hodge: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Departments: Legislation
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many regulations his Department has (a) brought forward and (b) revoked over the last 12 months. [158733]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 24 October 2007]: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Departments: Policy
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what policy changes his Department has implemented since 27 June 2007. [159295]
James Purnell: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Departments: Public Participation
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 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. [160010]
Margaret Hodge: It has not proved possible to respond to the right hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Departments: Written Questions
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what percentage of Questions tabled to his Department for answer on a named day received a substantive reply on the day named in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [161342]
Margaret Hodge: According to the DCMS PQ database, in the 12 month period from 1 October 2006 the Department received 418(1) named day questions of which 245 (59 per cent.) received a substantive reply on the day named.
(1 )This figure includes those named day questions tabled to and answered by the Minister for the Olympics.
Digital Broadcasting: Eastern Region
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the take-up of digital television in (a) Suffolk and (b) the East of England was in the most recent period for which figures are available. [161840]
James Purnell: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in time available before Prorogation.
Digital Broadcasting: West Midlands
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government (a) has taken and (b) intends to take to assist senior citizens in the West Midlands to prepare for the switchover from analogue to digital TV. [159874]
James Purnell [holding answer 25 October 2007]: It has not proved possible to respond to my hon. Friend in the time available before Prorogation.
Digital Switchover Help Scheme: East Midlands
Mr. Skinner: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the percentage of households in the East Midlands that will qualify for assistance in switching over to digital television. [161448]
James Purnell: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in time available before Prorogation.
Digital Switchover Help Scheme: Eastern Region
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many and what percentage of households he estimates will qualify for assistance in switching over to digital television in (a) Suffolk and (b) the East of England. [161845]
James Purnell: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Digital Switchover Help Scheme: Greater London
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps the Government (a) have taken and (b) plan to take to assist elderly people in London to prepare for the switchover from analogue to digital TV; and if he will make a statement. [161762]
James Purnell: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
English Heritage: Greater London
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what projections were made of the number of staff English Heritage who would move to Bunhill Row, London. [159539]
Margaret Hodge: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many English Heritage staff relocated from London to other parts of the country in each year since 2000. [159542]
Margaret Hodge: It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
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