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14 Mar 2008 : Column 704W—continued
Holocaust Memorial Day
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations she has received about including commemoration of Raoul Wallenberg in Holocaust Memorial Day; and if she will make a statement. [194374]
Mr. Dhanda: Communities and Local Government have received no representations to include commemoration of Raoul Wallenberg in Holocaust Memorial Day.
Liverpool City Council: Audit
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking following the recent Audit Commission corporate assessment report into Liverpool City Council. [193954]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department is working closely with colleagues and officials in the Local Government Association, IDeA—Improvement and Development Agency for local government—Audit Commission, Regional Improvement and Efficiency Partnership, Government Office for the North West (GONW), and the city council itself, to ensure that a package of support for Liverpool is available.
To this end, an improvement board, with external membership including GONW, IDeA, and the Audit Commission, has been set up by the city council to provide continued support and challenge. Peer support from other local government authorities is also being developed.
Local Authorities: Collective Worship
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will issue guidance to local authorities on the saying of prayers at council meetings. [194230]
Mr. Dhanda: The Department has no plans to issue guidance to local authorities on prayers at council meetings.
Local Authorities: Petitions
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps local authorities will be required to take in response to a petition with a specified number of signatures under her Department’s proposals. [193787]
Mr. Dhanda: On 27 December 2007 Communities and Local Government published the “Local Petitions and Calls for Action Consultation”, which seeks views on a proposed duty on local authorities to respond to local petitions, and the number of signatures required to trigger a response. The consultation will close on 20 March.
Local Authorities: Standards
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers Oftenant will have to (a) inspect local authorities and (b) set and monitor performance indicators for local authorities. [194409]
Mr. Iain Wright:
As announced on 15 October 2007, we have appointed an independently chaired advisory
panel to give further advice on the technical work needed to bring local authority landlords within the regulator's scope.
Plastic Bags
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the Answer to the hon. Member for Bromley of 4 February 2008, Official Report, column 852W, on plastic bags, whether the two orders were for 300,000 bags in total or for 300,000 bags each for order. [193790]
Mr. Dhanda: 300,000 bags were ordered in total.
Public Bodies: Internet
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated cost is of (a) establishing and (b) maintaining the data interchange hub in each of the next three years. [193814]
Mr. Dhanda: The data interchange hub project is being delivered in a phased manner, with the first production release due to go into service in April 2008. The phases beyond this have not been scoped in detail, and as a result estimated costs, if agreed, are not yet available. The current estimated cost up to 1 April 2008 is just under £690,000, including the costs of system development and testing, programme management, and communications with stakeholders. The annual maintenance costs are under negotiation, and the Department is efficiently and effectively re-using existing departmental systems and infrastructure to its benefit as regards both the development and maintenance costs of the system.
Standards Board for England: Complaints
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average cost was of the Standards Board for England processing and assessing a complaint in the most recent year for which figures are available. [191661]
John Healey: The average cost per case incurred by the Standards Board in undertaking the initial assessment to decide whether or not to refer a matter for investigation was £393 in 2006-07.
The average cost per completed investigation, including the cost of that initial assessment, was £12,772 in 2006-07.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Drinking Water
Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has made to other Government Departments on ceasing the use of bottled water and providing tap water instead; if he will publish the responses received; and if he will make a statement. [187972]
Mr. Woolas: The use of bottled water for meetings and other official business is to be phased out across the whole Government estate.
On 6 March, the Cabinet Secretary wrote to the head of every Government Department suggesting they should replace bought-in bottled water with tap water for all meetings in future.
A number of Departments including DEFRA have already stopped using bottled water for official meetings but the proposal is to extend the ‘tap water only policy’ throughout Government Departments.
The new policy is expected to come into effect by the summer.
Enviros Consulting
Robert Neill: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what payments have been made by (a) his Department and (b) WRAP—the Waste and Resources Action Programme—to Enviros Consulting in the last 36 months; and for what purpose in each case. [192182]
Joan Ruddock: The total value of payments made by DEFRA to Enviros Consulting since 1 April 2005 is £6,426,420.53. However, due to the number of payments made, further breakdown of each project’s purpose could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
The following table shows each of the projects Enviros has undertaken for the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) over the last three years.
| Project/programme | Payment (£) |
Fisheries: EC Action
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether his Department plans to consult on the European Fisheries Fund Operational Programme in March 2008; and if he will make a statement. [191740]
Jonathan Shaw: The consultation on the European Fisheries Fund UK Operational Programme was launched on 6 March. Copies of the draft Operational Programme are on the DEFRA website.
Fisheries: Inspections
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how many joint inspections carried out with HM Revenue and Customs in relation to the enforcement of fishery protection there were in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement; [193145]
(2) how many infringements were recorded as a result of fisheries inspections in each year since 1997; how many infringements (a) were minor and required no follow-up action and (b) required follow-up action; and if he will make a statement; [193147]
(3) how many inspection reports in relation to fisheries were completed in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [193205]
Jonathan Shaw: This information is not readily available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make a statement on the performance of inspections carried out in relation to the enforcement of fishery protection. [193146]
Jonathan Shaw: The measurement of the performance of inspections carried out in relation to the enforcement of fishery protection is a complex issue.
Comparisons of the number of inspections carried out per year, or the number of inspections per patrol vessel per day are simple performance indicators which give a very broad overview but give no indication of the numerous factors which may have affected that performance and no meaningful measurement of effectiveness.
In the last three years the Marine and Fisheries Agency has moved to a more targeted risk-based system of inspection, taking account of fisheries under pressure, quota restrictions, previous offending, and other such factors.
The Marine and Fisheries Agency are currently in the process of developing methods to strengthen the gathering and use of intelligence and more accurately assess the effectiveness of inspection activity.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many inspectors monitoring landings in the fishing industry there were in each year since 1997; in which landing places they were operational; and if he will make a statement. [193201]
Jonathan Shaw: Information on the numbers of fisheries inspectors is provided in the Annual Reports on Monitoring the Application of the Common Fisheries Policy submitted by the United Kingdom pursuant to Article 35 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2847/93. Copies of these reports will be placed in the House Library. Copies of the report for 1997 are not available and the 2007 report has not been completed yet.
The locations of fisheries inspectors have been adjusted slightly over the period since 1997 in order to ensure that the inspectors are located most effectively, as the activity at some landing ports has declined and others have increased. Inspectors are located in such a way that all landing places within England and Wales can be monitored.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the likely effect of changes to the budget of the Marine and Fisheries Agency for 2008-09 on the number of landings inspectors; and if he will make a statement. [193203]
Jonathan Shaw: The budget agreed with the Marine and Fisheries Agency for 2008-09 should have no implications on the number of landings inspectors employed by the Marine and Fisheries Agency.
Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many fisheries inspectors have access to VMS data and the MCSS database; which other staff have such access; and if he will make a statement. [193204]
Jonathan Shaw: All Marine and Fisheries Agency inspectors and operational focused administration staff have access to VMS—vessel monitoring system—data and the MCSS database as appropriate and in accordance with operational requirements.
Flood Control: Finance
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much of his Department's flood protection budget will be spent on administration in 2007-08. [185615]
Mr. Woolas: The definition of administration is subjective and open to interpretation.
The estimate of direct administrative spend on flood risk management in DEFRA is some £2 million. This covers direct pay, expenses and training for DEFRA Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management staff and consultancy.
Environment Agency flood risk management activities carry a share of administrative costs in relation to the overall £1 billion budget. Using the definition agreed with the National Audit Office for its report on building and maintaining river and coastal flood defences in England, the Environment Agency estimates its costs in support of flood risk management activities in 2007-08 to be:
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