| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
18 Feb 2008 : Column 122W—continued
Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office: Consultants
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Solicitor-General whether Michaela Partridge was employed as a consultant to HM Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08. [185193]
The Solicitor-General: The information is as follows:
( a) Michaela Partridge was employed as a consultant by Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) in financial year 2006-07, and was paid £65,271. Her contract expired in November 2006.
(b) Michaela Partridge has not been employed as a consultant in financial year 2007-08.
Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office: Fees and Charges
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Solicitor-General what the reasons are for the fee structure introduced by HM Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office in September 2006; and if she will make a statement. [185194]
The Solicitor-General: The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was established as an independent prosecuting authority in April 2005, and is superintended by the Attorney-General. It prosecutes cases referred to it by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
The RCPO introduced new arrangements for counsel fees in September 2006 to standardise rates paid to counsel in all its cases, to encourage prompt billing and to bring certainty and clarity to the amounts owing to counsel at any point in time. The system is based on published fixed fee rates and is more transparent than the previous system, which involved a negotiation between both parties after the fee notes had been sent by counsel to the Department.
The new arrangements were commended by the Comptroller and Auditor General in his report on RCPO's 2006-07 accounts. He noted that
“The new processes for agreeing counsel fee expenditure and estimating all related accrued liabilities has significantly enhanced the Department's ability to manage this key element of its expenditure”.
The RCPO continues to apply the new arrangements and has witnessed a further improvement of control over counsel fees in 2007-08. The great majority of fee notes are now submitted within one month of the date on which the work was performed, and the number of fees relating to cases that pre-date the introduction of the new arrangements has diminished significantly.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Solicitor-General how much was paid in fees to legal counsel by HM Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office in 2006-07; and what proportion of the Office’s expenditure for that year this represented. [185201]
The Solicitor-General: The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was established as an independent prosecuting authority in April 2005, and is superintended by the Attorney-General. It prosecutes cases referred to it by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It does not conduct investigations.
In 2006-07, RCPO paid £14,954,084 in fees to barristers. This represented 41 per cent. of the Office’s gross expenditure.
Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office: Finance
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Solicitor-General what the budget of the HM Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (a) has been in each year since its creation and (b) will be in each year of the spending review period. [185191]
The Solicitor-General: The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was established as an independent prosecuting authority in April 2005, and is superintended by the Attorney-General. It is a separate Government Department from HM Revenue and Customs.
The budget of RCPO (in £000) in each financial year (a) since its creation has been as follows.
| Budget of RCPO (£000) | |
and (b) in each financial year of the spending review period
| Budget of RCPO (£000) | |
Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office: Operating Costs
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Solicitor-General what the net operating cost of HM Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office was in 2006-07. [185195]
The Solicitor-General: The net operating cost of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) in 2006-07 was £32,006,772.
Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office: Publications
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Solicitor-General whether HM Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office produces an internal staff magazine. [185253]
The Solicitor-General: Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office has produced a bi-monthly internal staff magazine since March 2007.
Revenue and Customs: Finance
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Solicitor-General whether the rates for legal fees paid for HM Revenue and Customs prosecutions have changed since HM Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office was established. [185656]
The Solicitor-General: The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was established as an independent prosecuting authority in April 2005, and is superintended by the Attorney-General. It prosecutes cases referred to it by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
RCPO introduced new arrangements for counsel fees in September 2006. Key features of the new arrangements were the introduction of standard rates that eliminated the need for negotiation between the RCPO and chambers, raised transparency and increased the accuracy of the RCPO's accounts.
The standard rates introduced reflected those prevailing at the time, with some small adjustments to ensure consistency. Following their introduction, the rates were reviewed in the final quarter of 2007 and some further small adjustments were made.
Smuggling: Animal Products
Mr. Paice: To ask the Solicitor-General how many successful prosecutions were made by HM Revenue and Customs for illegal importation of products of animal origin into the UK in each year since 2001. [185620]
The Solicitor-General: The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was established as an independent prosecuting authority in April 2005, and is superintended by the Attorney-General. It prosecutes cases referred to it by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Serious Organised Crime Agency. It does not conduct investigations.
HMRC has been responsible for investigating breaches of the products of animal origin regulations since April 2003.
Since April 2003, there have been 11 successful prosecutions.
Central records of prosecutions undertaken by enforcement agencies prior to April 2003 are not maintained.
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street: Manpower
Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister on what date Stephen Carter stopped undertaking work for Brunswick. [185968]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Northampton, South (Mr. Binley) on 24 January 2008, Official Report, column 2179W.
British Airports Authority
John McDonnell: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what meetings he has attended with the BAA in his capacity as Prime Minister; [184653]
(2) what meetings (a) he and (b) his officials have attended with representatives of the BAA at which (i) the expansion of Heathrow airport and (ii) the Crossrail project were discussed; [184672]
(3) what meetings he has attended with representatives of the aviation industry in his capacity as Prime Minister. [184713]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening) on Thursday 31 January 2008, Official Report, column 563W.
Chequers
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what the value is of the payments that have been made to Chequers from the public purse in each year since 1997-98; [176346]
(2) if he will place in the Library a copy of the Chequers Trust Deed. [176347]
The Prime Minister: On the Chequers grant, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor, Mr. Blair, on 11 October 2004, Official Report, column 54W and 13 February 2003, Official Report, column 948W. In addition, I refer the hon. Member to the Freedom of Information release on Chequers, available on the Cabinet Office publication scheme:
Figures for addition financial years are set out in the following table:
| Grant (£) | |
The Chequers Trust Deed is scheduled to the Chequers Estate Act 1917, and was amended and scheduled to the Chequers Estate Act 1958. Copies are available in the Library of the House.
China: Human Rights
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what steps he took on his visit to China in January 2008 to encourage the Chinese authorities to facilitate freedom of movement and expression in China for both domestic and international press in the run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008 and afterwards; [185699]
(2) how many meetings he had with Chinese officials at which media freedom was discussed during his visit to China in January 2008. [185700]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave the hon. Members for Orkney and Shetland (Mr. Carmichael) and for Southend, West (Mr. Amess) on 25 January 2008, Official Report, column 2280W.
Christmas Cards
Mr. Burns: To ask the Prime Minister how much his Office spent on (a) Christmas cards and (b) postage of Christmas cards in 2007. [176914]
The Prime Minister: Approximately 1,500 cards were purchased for official use at a cost of £1,379. All expenditure incurred in the purchase and posting of these cards is in accordance with the departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety, based on the principles set out in "Government Accounting".
Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis
David Davis: To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions he has met (a) the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis and (b) the Metropolitan Policy Deputy Commissioner since June 2007; and what matters were discussed at each meeting. [186919]
The Prime Minister: My officials and I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects.
Departmental Reorganisation
Bob Spink: To ask the Prime Minister how much the rebranding of Government Departments cost the public purse following his taking of office. [185302]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Members for South Holland and The Deepings (Mr. Hayes) and for Guildford (Anne Milton) on 10 July 2007, Official Report, column 1465-6W.
Energy Policy
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister what matters in respect of energy policy were (a) discussed and (b) decided at the meeting of his business council on 4 February. [186448]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the press briefing given by my spokesman on 4 February 2008. A transcript of this is available on the No. 10 website (http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page14483 .asp). and a copy has been placed in the Library of the House.
Joint Intelligence Committee: Public Appointments
Lynne Jones: To ask the Prime Minister what the process is for the appointment of the chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee; and whether applications are invited or solicited. [184200]
David Davis: To ask the Prime Minister with reference to his statement of 25 July 2007, Official Report, column 841, on national security, what progress has been made on the separation of the position of Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee from that of policy adviser to the Government. [185106]
The Prime Minister: The positions of Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee and policy adviser to the Government have been separated, as I announced on 25 July.
I approved the appointment of Alex Allan as Joint Intelligence Committee Chairman and Head of Intelligence Analysis on the recommendation of the Cabinet Secretary and with the agreement of the First Civil Service Commissioner. As Mr. Allan was a serving Permanent Secretary, this was a managed move.
Robert Hannigan was appointed to the policy adviser and co-ordinator role and is Head of Intelligence, Security and Resilience in the Cabinet Office. His responsibilities include strategy and resourcing of the Security and Intelligence Agencies; security policy, including information assurance; counter-terrorism, resilience, and the effectiveness of continuity of Government; and crisis arrangements.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |