Written Answers to Questions
Monday 17 December 2007
Northern Ireland
Causeway Consultants
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what contracts his Department (a) has and (b) has had with (i) Causeway Consultants and (ii) White Rock Research and Consultancy; what the ( a) nature and ( b) value was of work undertaken; when each piece of work was (i) started and (ii) completed; and if he will make a statement. [172547]
Mr. Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office has not undertaken any contracts with Causeway Consultants or White Rock Research and Consultancy.
Christmas
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department and its agencies have spent on Christmas (a) cards, (b) parties and (c) decorations in each of the last five years. [171444]
Mr. Woodward: The following table shows the amount spent by the NIO and its agencies on Christmas cards, receptions and decorations in the last five full financial years.
| £ | |||
| Financial year | Cards | Receptions | Decorations |
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the total amount of carbon emissions produced by his Department in each year since 1997. [172347]
Mr. Woodward:
My Department contributes data on energy consumption to the Northern Ireland Public Sector Energy Committee annual report. The most up-to-date figures on carbon emissions from energy consumption are contained in the 2005-06 PSEC report and show estimated emissions as being 1,434,000 kg CO2; this is a reduction of 11 per cent. from 2004-05 figures. During this period 17 per cent. of our electricity came from renewable sources; overall, 9 per cent. of our energy came from renewable sources. We have recently
invested in biomass heating and solar energy generation at Hillsborough Castle. No figures are available prior to 2004-05.
Since April 2006 emissions from central Government ministerial and official air travel has been offset through the Government carbon offsetting fund. Departmental aviation emissions are calculated on an annual basis and subsequently offset through payments to the fund. The fund purchases certified emissions reduction credits from energy efficiency and renewable energy projects with sustainable development benefits, located in developing countries.
The DEFRA website provides a comprehensive list of Government carbon offsetting fund members, their emission figures and what activities they have offset through the fund, available at:
Departmental Manpower
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many reports have been made to his Department's nominated officers under paragraph 16 of the revised Civil Service Code since its publication on 6 June 2006. [162425]
Mr. Woodward: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Gillian Merron) on 19 November 2007, Official Report, columns 596-97W. No reports have been made to the Northern Ireland Office's nominated officers in relation to Northern Ireland civil servants employed within the Department.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many allegations of victimisation for whistleblowing have been reported to his Department by departmental staff since 6th June 2006. [162426]
Mr. Woodward: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Gillian Merron) on 19 November 2007, Official Report, columns 596-97W. No allegations of victimisation for whistleblowing have been reported to the Northern Ireland Office by Northern Ireland civil servant staff since 6 June 2006.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when his Department's whistleblowing procedures were reviewed to reflect the provisions in the revised Civil Service Code. [162427]
Mr. Woodward: I refer the hon. Member to the answer provided by the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Gillian Merron) on 19 November 2007, Official Report, columns 596-97W. The Northern Ireland Office Guidance on Public Interest Disclosure (whistleblowing) was last revised on 8 April 2005.
Departmental Visits Abroad
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on overnight accommodation for Ministers overseas in the last year. [171326]
Mr. Woodward: From 1 January 2007 to date, the amount spent on overseas hotel accommodation for Northern Ireland Office Ministers is estimated at US$7,608 and €2,692. At current exchange rates this adds up to approximately £5,640.
There were 10 visits in total where overnight overseas accommodation was required. The destinations were Dublin, Boston, New York, Washington DC, Ypres and the Holy See. The Ministers requiring the accommodation were myself, my predecessor the right hon. Member for Neath (Mr. Hain), the right hon. Member for Delyn (Mr. Hanson), and the hon. Member for Liverpool Garston (Maria Eagle).
Olympics
Look of London
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics who will be responsible for allocating the £32 million of funding for Look of London; which organisations form Look of London; what the objectives of Look of London are; and what activities it will undertake. [174023]
Tessa Jowell [holding answer 13 December 2007]: The purpose of this budget is to help improve the look of streets en route to the Olympic Park and off-Park Olympic venues by assisting with street cleaning and dressing measures such as removing graffiti, repainting street furniture and providing decorative planting. The responsibility for allocation of these funds will be determined nearer the time of the games.
Olympic Delivery Authority: Finance
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what projects the £500 million contingency funding allocated to the Olympic Delivery Authority will be allocated to; and how much will be allocated to each project. [174020]
Tessa Jowell [holding answer 13 December 2007]: As set out in my written statement to Parliament on 10 December 2007, the distribution of the £500 million allocated programme contingency, by category, is as follows:
| Released contingency included in cost (£ million) | |
I am not able to provide further detail at this stage, as this could compromise the Olympic Delivery Authority’s commercial negotiating position and lead to an increase in cost.
Olympic Games 2012: Finance
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics when she intends to provide further information about the likely cost of the Olympic village. [174022]
Tessa Jowell [holding answer 13 December 2007]: Commercially confidential negotiations are currently taking place relating to the construction of the Olympic Village. Further information about the development of the Olympic Village will be made available at the appropriate time.
House of Commons Commission
Departmental Data Protection
Tom Brake: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission, what plans the Commission has to review its practices involved in transporting personal data; and whether the Commission uses TNT to transport such data. [172286]
Nick Harvey: The Clerk of the House has commissioned a review of data and information security which is being led by the Parliamentary Security Co-ordinator. The review is being carried out as a matter of priority. TNT have been used to courier information such as Committee and Delegation papers, artwork and images but only rarely have they been used to transport personal data such as passports and then only in cases of urgency.
Proof of Identity
Mr. Stephen O'Brien: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2007, Official Report, column 452W, on proof of identity, who proof-checked the text for the passes. [172922]
Nick Harvey: The text was the responsibility of the project team. The punctuation error in the text will be corrected when the current stock of passes is used up.
Women and Equality
Departmental Manpower
Mrs. May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many (a) men and (b) women of each Civil Service grade are employed by the Government Equalities Office. [172735]
Barbara Follett: The information is supplied in the following table.
The table contains the number of permanent staff employed in their substantive grades as of 12 December 2007. It excludes temporary staff.
| GEO | Permanent staff | ||
| Grade | Male | Female | Total permanent |
|
Higher Executive Officer (Fast Stream Development Programme) | |||
Politics: Discrimination
Jo Swinson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality whether the Government plans to bring forward legislative proposals to protect people from discrimination on the grounds of political belief. [171357]
Barbara Follett: The responses to the consultation on proposals for a new Equality Bill are currently being considered. A formal Government response to the consultation will be published in due course.
Solicitor-General
Prosecutions: Racial Violence
John Mann: To ask the Solicitor-General when she expects the conclusions of the Crown Prosecution Service’s internal review into the anti-Semitic incidents not resulting in prosecution, and incitement to racial hatred prosecutions to be published. [174164]
The Solicitor-General: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is producing a report setting out its detailed response to the recommendations following the All Party Parliamentary Group’s Inquiry into Anti-Semitism. The CPS had initially intended to publish its response this autumn, but the analysis of the additional data from police files took longer than anticipated, and the CPS now intends to publish the report early in the new year.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |