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21 Jan 2008 : Column 1543W—continued
Departmental Flexible Working
Andrew Selous: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many staff (a) have applied to work flexible hours and (b) work flexible hours in the Cabinet Office. [164334]
Gillian Merron: Flexible working incorporates a wide variety of working patterns including part-time, job share, compressed and staggered hours or term-time working.
The Cabinet Office currently has 198 members of staff that work either part-time or non-standard full-time hours. Information on applications for flexible working is not held centrally.
Departmental Official Residences
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what the (a) capital and (b) notional open market rental value is of each official residence available to Ministers in his Department; [176348]
(2) how much was charged by the Cabinet Office to other Departments for each of the three official ministerial residences in Admiralty House in (a) 2005-06 and (b) 2006-07; [176509]
(3) what payment the (a) Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and (b) Deputy Prime Minister’s Office made to the Cabinet Office for the use of Admiralty House as an official ministerial residence for the year 2006-07. [176510]
Phil Hope: No Cabinet Office Ministers are accommodated in official residences. Information on capital values of freehold properties is included in the National Asset Register. Information on notional open market rental values is not held. Information on rental income from freehold properties is included in the Cabinet Office’s annual resource accounts, copies of which are available in the Library.
Departmental Recycling
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what weight of paper his Department recycled in each of the last five years. [179463]
Phil Hope: The Cabinet Office began recording comprehensive waste data in 2002-03. The weight of paper and cardboard recycled by the Cabinet Office, including the Prime Minister’s Office, over the last five years is shown in the following table.
| Recycled paper and cardboard (tonnes) | |
Sustainable Development
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what dates the ministerial Sub-Committee on sustainable development in Government has met since May 2005; how long each meeting lasted; and whether there are plans to place sustainable development in Government under the responsibility of a Cabinet Sub-Committee. [177516]
Phil Hope:
On 23 July 2007, the Prime Minister introduced a reduced number of more focused and cross-cutting Cabinet Committees. As part of this, the Sub-Committee on sustainable development was dissolved,
and responsibility for sustainable development transferred to the Economic Development (Environment and Energy) Sub-Committee. This will allow work on sustainable development to be driven in the context of our broader efforts on climate change and sustainability. Details of the Committee’s membership and terms of reference can be viewed at:
or in the Library of the House.
Information relating to the proceedings of Cabinet Committees, including when, how often and for how long they meet, is generally not disclosed; as to do so could harm the frankness and candour of internal discussion.
Telephone Services: Fees and Charges
Mr. Steen: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make it his policy to enable clients contacting Government agencies to do so by telephone without charge. [179598]
Phil Hope: Decisions on telephone tariffs are a matter for Departments and agencies although the Central Office of Information recommends that affordability, based on the needs of the people for whom services are intended, should be considered.
Trade Unions
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what meetings he has had with trade unions officials since 1 July 2007; on what dates; and with which trade unions. [179859]
Edward Miliband: Ministers and civil servants meet many people as part of the process of policy development and advice. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.
Voluntary Sector: Funding
Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 12 December 2007, Official Report, column 561W, on voluntary sector funding, what his estimate is of the amount of work carried out by the voluntary sector in delivering public services for which no payment was made in the last year; and if he will make a statement. [175783]
Phil Hope: It is legitimate for third sector organisations to recover the appropriate level of overhead costs associated with the provision of a particular service. Third sector organisations are not expected to deliver a public service contract for which they are not reimbursed on a sustainable basis. We recognise the added contribution that some third sector organisations bring over and above the core requirements of public service contracts, for example, through the use of volunteers.
Work and Pensions
Business
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's planned expenditure on business support, promotion of enterprise and economic development is for each year from 2007-08 to 2010-11; and which elements of this expenditure are planned to be funded through regional development agencies' single pot. [179230]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 15 January 2008]: The primary focus of DWP's policies is to help individuals move into and progress in work, especially people claiming out-of-work benefits and others who face particular disadvantages in the labour market.
Though not directly intended as business support or the promotion of enterprise, both employers and the economy will benefit from policies that promote higher levels of employment by improving the functioning of the labour market and ensuring there is a wider pool of potential recruits for the vacancies that employers need to fill.
In addition, some of our labour market help to individuals has a more direct effect on employers. Through the new deal self-employment option, support is offered to individuals who want to set up their own business. Other measures, such as local employment partnerships, aim to help more of our priority customers into work through working with employers to develop ways of increasing the efficiency of job matching or improving work-related skills.
Child Support Agency: Manpower
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are employed by the Child Support Agency to process special payments. [175241]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the chief executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 21 January 2008:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people are employed by the Child Support Agency to process special payments. [175241]
The Agency has two methods of processing special payments. If a payment is made as part of a response to a complaint or as an action on a case which the Agency is administering clerically, the payment is made by the caseworkers in these areas along with their other duties.
Special payments which do not arise from a complaint are currently dealt with by a central team of around 24 full time equivalent employees.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Departmental Cost Effectiveness
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in which areas his Department has made savings towards its March 2008 target of a £960 million saving. [177961]
Mrs. McGuire: Progress on delivery of the efficiency targets is reported six monthly in the departmental report and the autumn performance report. The autumn performance report for 2007 (ISBN 978-184763-201-2) published in December, is the latest publication. This can be found on our website at:
and progress against our target is on page 73. The following table replicates the information in the autumn performance report:
| Annual financial efficiency savings to September 2007 | |
| £ million | |
| (1) Corporate Centre and Enabling Functions include initiatives that cut across DWP for example the savings from paying our customers directly into their bank accounts. | |
Departmental Equality
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 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. [173844]
Mrs. McGuire: The Department has a central team that takes forward an extensive programme of work on equality and diversity and ensures that the Department complies with all equality legislation.
Information on the number of staff in the central team and how much has been spent in total and on staff costs by the central team in each of the last three years is shown in the following table. Information on the number of other staff in the Department working on equality and diversity cannot be disaggregated from their wider duties and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Information on the costs of promoting equality and diversity outside the central team is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
| Figures for the central team | |||
| Headcount | Staff costs (£) | Total (£) | |
| (1 )April 2007. (2 )April 2006. (3 )April 2005. | |||
Departmental Pay
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department and its agencies spent on end-of-year bonus payments in each of the last five years. [171540]
Mrs. McGuire: Performance bonus payments are awarded to employees on the basis of their individual performance. The expenditure incurred during the last five years is in the following table.
| Financial year | Total paid (£ million) |
The actual spend on bonus payments for 2007-08 is not yet available.
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 10 December 2007, Official Report, column 188W, on departmental pay, how many of those earning over £100,000 were employed (a) as special advisers and (b) in a political role in each year since 2002. [177175]
Mrs. McGuire: Since 2003, the Government have published on an annual basis the number of special advisers in each pay band. For the most recent information I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on Thursday 22 November 2007, Official Report, 147-51WS.
Information on the numbers and costs of special advisers prior to 2003 was provided at regular intervals and this information will be available in the Library of the House.
Departmental Recycling
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recycling scheme is in operation in each building operated by his Department. [176244]
Mrs. McGuire: DWP has in excess of 1,000 sites so it is not possible to provide details of all the recycling schemes that are available on a site-by-site basis. The Department is committed however to meeting the waste and recycling targets for sustainable operations on the Government estate. During 2006-07 DWP recycled 67 per cent. of its measurable office waste, of which 90 per cent. was paper and cardboard. Overall, during the same period the Department produced 26 per cent. less waste than in the 2004-05 baseline year.
In collaboration with its estate partner Land Securities Trillium, the Department operates a range of recycling schemes across the estate. In addition to the recycling of all confidential waste paper (covering the whole of the estate), a total paper recycling scheme has been introduced in over 300 buildings and continues to be rolled out wherever practical. All fluorescent lighting tubes are recycled, as is waste cooking oil. Arrangements are in place also to recycle redundant furniture, IT equipment, printer toner cartridges and mobile phones no longer required by the Department.
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