Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 9 January 2008
Olympics
Olympic Games 2012
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Minister for the Olympics pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2007, Official Report, column 294W, on Olympic Games 2012, if she will place in the Library copies of the financial updates for the last three months. [176154]
Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to my answer to the hon. Member for Henley (Mr. Johnson) of 13 December 2007, Official Report, column 767W.
Leader of the House
Christmas
Mr. Burns: To ask the Leader of the House how much her Office spent on (a) Christmas cards and (b) postage of Christmas cards in 2007. [176924]
Helen Goodman: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons spent £1,417.05 on charity Christmas cards in 2007. Oxfam, Women’s Aid and the Samaritans were the charities supported.
The great majority of cards were sent by the internal mailing system and did not incur a postage charge to the Office.
Members: Allowances
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Leader of the House whether hon. Members will be eligible to use their additional cost allowance to pay for the costs of local authority charges for the collection of household rubbish. [176350]
Helen Goodman: Yes, provided it meets the rules given in the Green Book.
Official Engagements
Mrs. May: To ask the Leader of the House what (a) external and (b) internal appointments she had in each week of December 2007 in her capacity as (i) Leader of the House of Commons, (ii) Minister for Women and (iii) Lord Privy Seal. [177443]
Ms Harman: As with any Minister who has a broad portfolio I prioritise my work accordingly.
Regional Ministers: Written Questions
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Leader of the House if she will make it her policy to allow written parliamentary questions to be tabled directly to each of the Ministers for the Regions in their capacity as a regional minister. [176256]
Helen Goodman: I refer the hon. Gentleman to my answer given to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 22 October 2007, Official Report, column 1W.
Culture, Media and Sport
Departmental Sustainable Development
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department is on course to meet the commitment in the sustainable operations on the Government estate targets (a) to source at least 10 per cent. of its electricity from renewables by 31 March 2008 and (b) to increase recycling figures to 40 per cent. of waste by 2010. [176904]
Margaret Hodge: The Department has been supplied with 100 per cent. renewable electricity under the OGC Buying Solution contract since January 2006. The Department introduced a new waste management system into its Cockspur street offices in January 2007. The average monthly recycling rate is 59 per cent.
Entertainments: Tickets
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent discussions he has had with representatives of (a) music concerts, (b) music festivals, (c) sporting events and (d) theatres on unscrupulous ticket resales; when such discussions took place; and if he will make a statement. [177118]
Mr. Sutcliffe: DCMS Ministers have not had any recent specific discussions with stakeholders on this subject, pending publication of a Select Committee report on ticket touting which is due 10 January 2008.
Gambling
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what representations he has received from industry bodies on the effect of the entry into force of the Gambling Act 2005 on (a) internet gambling and (b) other aspects of the gambling industry; and if he will make a statement. [176813]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The implementation of the Gambling Act 2005 which came into force on 1 September 2007 was the subject of extensive consultation with industry and others.
Ministers and officials continue to hold meetings and correspond with organisations including the Remote Gambling Association on many aspects of the remote and terrestrial gambling industry.
Legacy Trust UK: Finance
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much of the £40 million endowment to Legacy Trust was provided by (a) his Department, (b) Big Lottery Fund and (c) the Arts Council. [170151]
James Purnell [holding answer 3 December 2007]: The £40 million endowment for the Legacy Trust is made up of a £6 million grant from DCMS, £5 million from the Arts Council England (ACE), £5 million from the Big Lottery Fund (BiG), and £24 million from the Millennium Commission (which has since been transferred to BiG). The DCMS contribution is ring-fenced for the UK School games.
Legacy Trust UK: Pay
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the board members of Legacy Trust UK will be paid. [170150]
James Purnell [holding answer 3 December 2007]: The board members of the Legacy Trust do not get paid. They can claim expenses.
Television: Licensing
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much was spent on administering applications for black and white television licences in the last period for which figures are available; and how many staff hours were required for this purpose. [176262]
James Purnell: This is a matter for the BBC. I have, therefore, asked the BBC’s head of revenue management to consider the question raised by the hon. Member and to write to him direct. Copies of the reply will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
Northern Ireland
Provisional IRA
9. Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent assessment he has made of levels of violence perpetrated by members of the Provisional IRA. [175924]
Mr. Woodward: The IMC reported in November 2007 that they believed PIRA was not involved in terrorist or other illegal activities, was fully committed to pursuing the political path and would not be diverted from it.
Requisitioned Land
10. Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what proportion of land requisitioned for security purposes before 8 May has been returned to the original landowners. [175926]
Mr. Woodward:
As a result of the Government's security normalisation programme the majority of land
that was requisitioned for security purposes in Northern Ireland has now been de-requisitioned and handed back to the land owners.
Fuel Smuggling
11. Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the police authorities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on fuel smuggling; and if he will make a statement. [175927]
Paul Goggins: While my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer has lead responsibility in respect of revenue fraud, law enforcement agencies in Northern Ireland work closely together through the Organised Crime Task Force. There are good levels of co-operation across agencies locally and on a cross border basis to tackle fuel smuggling.
Drug Smuggling
12. Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what recent discussions he has had with the police authorities in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland on drug smuggling; and if he will make a statement. [175928]
Paul Goggins: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave earlier to the hon. Member for Shrewsbury and Atcham (Daniel Kawczynski).
Dissident Terrorist Activity
13. Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on levels of dissident republican terrorist activity in the Province. [175930]
Mr. Woodward: The IMC report published on 7 November last year outlined the activities of all Loyalist and Republican groups.
The despicable attacks by dissident republicans on two PSNI officers and ongoing activities by these groups clearly demonstrate the continued danger they pose for the security situation in Northern Ireland.
Departmental Equal Opportunities
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much has been spent by his Department (a) in total and (b) on staff costs on promoting equality and diversity in each of the last three years for which figures are available; and how many people are employed by his Department for this purpose. [173814]
Mr. Woodward: The following tables show the Department's spending on equality and diversity for the years requested:
| (a) Spent in total | |
| Cost (£) | |
| (b) Spent on staff costs | |
| Cost (£) | |
The Northern Ireland Office fully supports equality and diversity in the workplace and in the provision of services to the public. Equality and diversity is embedded into working practices across the Department and is not limited to certain staff. However, the Department does employ eight people who, among other duties, have responsibility for ensuring that the Department complies fully with equality legislation. Particular programmes in this three year period have included equality training for staff, an annual bursary for disabled staff and summer work placements for students from minority ethnic backgrounds.
Departmental Minimum Wage
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many London-based staff are employed by his Department on the national minimum wage. [175967]
Mr. Woodward: All Northern Ireland Office staff, both London-based and Belfast-based, are paid above the national minimum wage.
Departmental Training
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent by his Department on equality and human rights training in each financial year since 2002-03; and what percentage this represented of the total training budget. [168535]
Mr. Woodward: Equality underpins all aspects of departmental training, with modules included in the NIO induction programme. In addition, equality and human rights awareness feature across the range of NIO management and leadership programmes. Given the variety of departmental courses, it is not possible to quantify the amount spent on these elements in isolation.
| Amount spent (£) | |||
| Financial year | Equality | Human rights | Percentage of training budget |
Defence
Art Works
Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on art work in each year since 2001 (a) in total and (b) for its London headquarters. [176837]
Derek Twigg: The sum of £232,000 (excluding VAT) was spent on purchasing works of art in 2004-05 for the London headquarters of the Ministry of Defence. No other works of art have been purchased since 2001 for the London building.
The Meteorological Office—a Trading Fund of the Ministry of Defence—spent £279,092 on works of art for its new building in Exeter in 2003 and 2004.
Accurate information on expenditure on art in other Defence Agencies, Top Level Budget areas, Trading Funds, Joint Headquarters, single Service Commands and military units is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
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