Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 31 January 2008
Electoral Commission Committee
Road Traffic Offences
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many (a) parking tickets and (b) speeding fines were issued for vehicles used by the Electoral Commission in each year since it was established; and what the cost to the public purse of those penalties was in each year. [183356]
Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that it does not hold a record of this information, that it does not own any vehicles, and that it encourages staff to use public transport when travelling on official business.
Duchy of Lancaster
10 Downing Street: Archives
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what the Civil Service grade is of the person responsible for decisions on what to archive from the No 10 Press Office; [181082]
(2) what his Department’s policy is on (a) destroying, (b) retaining and (c) archiving files in the Press Office at No 10 Downing Street. [181173]
Mr. Watson: It is Cabinet Office policy, in line with other Departments across Whitehall, to select files for permanent preservation in accordance with records management guidance issued by the National Archives (TNA). Further details of this guidance can be found on the TNA’s website at:
Crimes of Violence: Females
Mrs. May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what considerations the Families at Risk Review gave to measures to combat violence against women; [182677]
(2) what meetings he has held since 27 June 2007 with representatives of (a) rape crisis centres, (b) women’s refuges, (c) sexual assault referral centres, (d) prostitution, trafficking and sexual exploitation support services and (e) other third sector organisations dealing with violence against women; [182733]
(3) what research the Social Exclusion Task Force has conducted on the issue of violence against women; and what steps the Social Exclusion Task Force has taken to develop measures to prevent violence against women. [182734]
Phil Hope: The Families At Risk Review identified domestic violence as a parent-based risk factor that could impact on children in its interim analytical report published in June 2007. A literature review considered several family risk factors in detail, including domestic violence, and a focus group was held with mothers who had experienced domestic violence.
This work will continue to be taken forward across Government to ensure that ‘think family’ becomes embedded across Whitehall and at a local level.
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.
Departmental ICT: Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)
Susan Kramer: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many (a) male and (b) female members of staff working in the Cabinet Office were issued with personal digital assistants in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [181400]
Mr. Watson [holding answer 24 January 2008]: The information requested is not held centrally and can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Pay
Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people in his Office earned over £100,000 in each year since 1997. [167199]
Mr. Watson: The number of staff earning over £100,000 in the Cabinet Office in each year since 1997 are as follows:
| Year (financial) | Number of staff earning over £100,000 in each year |
| Notes: 1. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10 2. Numbers less than 5 have been represented by * | |
Departmental Public Relations
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many external contracts his Department held with public relations companies in each of the last 10 years; and what the total cost of those contracts was. [183194]
Mr. Watson: The information requested for the Cabinet Office is not readily available and may not be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.
Departmental Records: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 13 December 2007, Official Report, column 826W, on departmental records: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, what the timetable is for the transfer of the files of the former Deputy Prime Minister’s Office to the National Archives. [181334]
Mr. Watson: The files of the former Deputy Prime Minister’s Office will be transferred to the National Archives by 2037 in accordance with section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958 which calls for records to be transferred by the time they are 30-years-old.
Emergency Services: Call Centres
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) how many emergency services call centre staff are on Civil Service pay grade AA, broken down by emergency service, including coastguard; [183342]
(2) how many members of staff work at emergency services call centres, broken down by emergency service, including coastguard. [183343]
Mr. Watson: This information is not held centrally.
Higher Civil Servants: Females
Bob Russell: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many of the Senior Civil Service staff employed at No 10 Downing Street are female; and what percentage they represent of all staff. [182787]
Mr. Watson: For these purposes No. 10 Downing Street forms an integral part of the Cabinet Office. The following answer relates to the whole of the Cabinet Office.
Information for 2006 can be found on the Office for National Statistics website at the following address:
Information for 2007 will be published in due course.
Ministerial Allowances
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the cost to the public purse of Ministerial allowances was (a) in total and (b) in each Government department in each of the last 10 years. [178704]
Mr. Watson [holding answer 29 January 2008]: Information relating to allowances paid to Ministers in their capacity as Members of Parliament or peers is a matter for the House authorities.
Trade Unions
Mr. Maude:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what meetings the Parliamentary Secretary of the Cabinet Office, the hon. Member for Lincoln (Gillian Merron), has had with trades unions since
June 2007 in the course of her official duties; and for what purpose such meetings were held. [181330]
Mr. Watson: Ministers and civil servants meet the Council of Civil Service Unions (CCSU) and the individual trade unions regularly. It is not normal practice to disclose details of such meetings.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Departmental Carbon Emissions
Mr. Kemp: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he has taken to reduce his Department’s carbon dioxide emissions in 2008-09. [181810]
Meg Munn: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) started implementing a Carbon Management Programme, developed with the Carbon Trust, in 2007. This will help to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions on the FCO’s UK estate in 2008-09. The programme includes technological, procurement, transport, housekeeping and awareness raising responses to the issue.
EU Reform: Treaties
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost of a referendum on the Lisbon treaty; and if he will make a statement. [178586]
Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply
Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 the Electoral Commission is responsible for the conduct of referendums, including estimation of the costs. The Department has made no detailed estimate of the costs of a national referendum.
As a guide, we might expect the cost of running a UK-wide referendum to be similar to the cost of a general election. The general election in 2005 cost in excess of £80 million.
In addition to the costs of conducting a referendum, the Electoral Commission would incur its own additional costs. These costs would be reflected in the Electoral Commission's estimate of its income and expenditure, which it is required to submit to Speaker's Committee annually. If approved, the money comes directly from HM Treasury to the Commission.
I understand that the Commission currently estimates that these costs would depend on the level of public information activity required, but would likely be in the range of £10 million to £30 million.
Gaza: Electricity
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact on civilians of the closure of Gaza’s electricity generating capacity on 20 January 2008 due to shortage of fuel. [183625]
Dr. Howells: The Government continue to believe that Israeli security and Palestinian suffering and hardship need to be addressed together. We deplore the rocket attacks that Israel suffers. We have also continued to make clear that we do not agree with Israel’s action to close the Gaza crossings.
The Gaza strip requires an estimated 230 megawatts of power daily, at this time of year, of which up to 55 megawatts is normally provided by the Gaza Power Generating Company (GPGC). On 20 January the GPGC stopped producing power when its reserves became too low to continue. During this time, the majority of the Gaza Strip had no electricity for at least eight hours according to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Many areas suffered power cuts of up to 12 hours because of breakdowns in Gaza’s ageing electricity network.
This had an alarming impact on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Power cuts mean that Gaza’s water authority has to rely on diesel powered generators OCHA reported that by 21 January there was only enough fuel to pump water from 40 of its 130 wells and to pump sewage at 21 of its 33 pumping stations. At least 40 per cent. of Gazans had no running water during this time. 30 per cent. of the population still had no water by 23 January. Hospitals ran reduced services between 19 to 21 January to preserve their fuel stocks.
Limited fuel supplies were resumed as of 22 January enabling power cuts to be reduced. We welcome the announcement by the Israeli Government on 27 January that it would resume the supply of food and fuel to Gaza to pre-17 January levels.
Gaza: Fuels
Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Israeli Government on easing the severe shortages of fuel in Gaza. [183626]
Dr. Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made a joint statement with my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development on 11 January in which they expressed their deep concern about
“the growing humanitarian impact of the restrictions by the Government of Israel on industrial diesel supplies to Gaza, particularly on the most vulnerable sections of the population.”
They urged Israel to lift all restrictions.
On 17 January, I raised these concerns with the Israeli ambassador. Our embassy in Tel Aviv also continues to raise our concerns on a regular basis.
On 21 January, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development again voiced their concerns. In a joint statement, they stated:
“We do not support Israel’s decision to close all crossings to Gaza.”
On 24 January, my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary called Foreign Minister Livni and reiterated these concerns.
We welcome the announcement by the Israeli Government on 27 January that it would resume the supply of food and fuel to Gaza to pre-17 January levels.
Kenya: Politics and Government
Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the Government recognise the Government of Mr Kibaki as the Government of Kenya; and if he will make a statement. [183345]
Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Banbury (Tony Baldry) on 29 January 2008, Official R eport, column 223W.
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