Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 6 March 2008
Duchy of Lancaster
Office of the Third Sector
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what responsibilities the Office of the Third Sector has in relation to the Charity Commission. [191374]
Phil Hope: The Charity Commission (the Commission) is a non-ministerial Government Department and is the independent regulator of Charities in England and Wales. In the exercise of its functions it is not subject to the direction or control of any Minister of the Crown or other Government Department. The Minister for the Cabinet Office appoints the members of the Commission’s board and conducts parliamentary business on the Commission’s behalf. He has policy responsibility for the law in relation to charities in England and Wales, including making Regulations and Orders under the Charities Acts. The Office of the Third Sector works closely with the Commission on matters of mutual interest, such as the implementation of the Charities Act 2006, while recognising and respecting the Commission’s independence.
Prime Minister
China
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the Answer of 4 February 2008, Official Report, columns 747-48W, on China, what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on (a) the selection of business leaders to accompany him on his trip to China, (b) the basis on which such business leaders were invited and (c) any bilateral business agreements made during the visit; and if he will make a statement. [190950]
The Prime Minister: I have regular meetings and discussions with ministerial colleagues and others on a wide range of subjects.
Departmental Reviews
Mr. Maude: To ask the Prime Minister what reviews he has commissioned since June 2007; on what date each review commenced; what progress has been made on each to date; and when each is expected to report. [191048]
The Prime Minister: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Cameron) at Prime Minister’s Questions on 6 February 2008, Official Report, column 949.
Iraq: Weapons
Mr. Amess: To ask the Prime Minister what the evidential basis was for the statement in the 2002 Iraq dossier that Iraq could deploy weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes of an order to use them; and if he will make a statement. [190871]
The Prime Minister: These matters have been examined during the course of the Butler Review and other inquiries, and covered during debates and statements on Iraq and in briefings by my predecessor’s official spokesman. All relevant information has been placed in the public domain in as far as that could be done without prejudicing national security.
Legal Opinion: Armed Forces
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to publish legal advice provided to the Cabinet on proposals to go to war or otherwise commit the military to action. [190528]
The Prime Minister: Advice from the Law Officers is handled in accordance with the requirements of the ministerial code.
Sudan
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister what plans he has to visit Darfur. [192079]
The Prime Minister: For Security reasons, my future engagements are announced as and when appropriate.
Women and Equality
Age: Discrimination
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what research she has commissioned on the incidence of discrimination in the supply of goods and services to people on the basis of age; and if she will make a statement. [190506]
Barbara Follett: The Government Equalities Office has worked with the Department of Health to commission two literature reviews and two research studies to assess the costs and benefits of eliminating age discrimination in the provision of health and social care.
Departmental Databases
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities what databases are (a) owned and (b) maintained by the Government Equalities Office. [185428]
Barbara Follett: The Government Equalities Office has two Microsoft Access databases that hold a register of its staff and its stakeholders respectively. These databases are maintained by GEO and hold no sensitive data. Access to these databases is restricted to GEO staff.
Gender Responsive Budgeting
Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality if she will evaluate the merits of the application of gender responsive budgeting in the Government’s public expenditure process; and if she will make a statement. [190477]
Barbara Follett: Gender responsive budgeting is one of a range of tools which the Government are using to tackle gender inequality.
We will be working with women’s non-government organisations to improve gender analysis of tax and spending policies over the forthcoming year.
International Development
Departmental Impact Assessments
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many regulatory impact assessments his Department has conducted in the last 12 months. [191264]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Information on the final regulatory impact assessments published between 1 January and 30 June 2007 can be found in Command Paper 7297, available at:
For the Department for International Development, no regulatory impact assessments have been listed. Departments are in the process of identifying the final regulatory impact assessments published between 1 July and 31 December 2007. The Department for International Development did not conduct any regulatory impact assessments within this period.
From April 2008, all final impact assessments will be published on a central website.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the salary range is for each pay band of civil servants in his Department. [188797]
Gillian Merron: The salary range for each pay band of civil servant in the Department for International Development is shown in the following table:
| £ | ||||
| London | National | |||
| Grade | Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum |
Culture, Media and Sport
Bingo
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of people belonging to bingo clubs in England. [191565]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Information on the number of people belonging to bingo clubs in England is not collected or held centrally.
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the potential of bingo clubs to contribute to the delivery of his Department’s leisure policies; and if he will make a statement. [191570]
Mr. Sutcliffe: A regulatory impact assessment (RIA) for the Gambling Act was prepared by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport in April 2005. This contained a competition assessment for the bingo market. The RIA can be accessed on the Department’s website at:
The Department has a close working relationship with the Bingo Association, the main trade body representing the interests of the industry. This enables the Department to have a good understanding of the issues of importance to the bingo industry. The Government recognise that bingo provides a very popular leisure pursuit for the millions of people who play the game each year. Bingo halls provide an important source of employment and play a significant social role in their local communities.
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