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17 Mar 2008 : Column 819W—continued
Citizenship
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the likely effects of implementation of the recommendations in Lord Goldsmith’s report on Citizenship: Our Common Bond, on Wales. [194886]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Government welcomes Lord Goldsmith’s Review of Citizenship and its contribution to the current debate about modernising our constitution to reflect the world as it is now.
This is an important step towards clarifying the legal and social rights and responsibilities that come with British Citizenship. While we may not agree with everything in the report, there is much here which is interesting.
It is too early to say what implications this review could have for Wales.
Departmental Official Visits
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the cost was of overnight accommodation for (a) civil servants, (b) special advisers and (c) Ministers in his Department staying overnight in (i) mainland Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) other countries in the last 12 months. [193539]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The cost to my Department, of overnight accommodation, for the last 12 months is:
Mainland GB: £23,266.50
Republic of Ireland: £167.72
Other countries: £732
Mainland GB: £1,567
Republic of Ireland: £83.86
Mainland GB: £1,298.74
Republic of Ireland: £83.86
Departmental Pensions
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what percentage of staff in his Department were making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions in each of the last two years. [193554]
Mr. Paul Murphy: No Wales Office staff are making additional voluntary contributions to their pensions, but a small number of staff are buying added years through deductions from pay.
Discrimination
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many claims for discrimination, based on (a) sex, (b) race and (c) sexual orientation, were brought by members of his Department and settled (i) in and (ii) out of court in each of the last five years. [194973]
Ipsos MORI
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what payments his Department has made to Ipsos MORI in the last 24 months; and for what purposes. [194316]
Local Government
Mr. Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent assessment he has made of the arrangements for the distribution of powers between the National Assembly for Wales and Welsh local authorities. [194896]
Mr. Paul Murphy: The Wales Office was fully involved in discussions with the Welsh Assembly Government during the passage of the Local Government Bill in the last session. Ongoing discussions take place both at official and ministerial level and Wales Office Ministers meet regularly with both the Assembly Minister for Social Justice and Local Government, Dr. Brian Gibbons AM and the Welsh Local Government Association.
Olympics
Ministers: Visits
Mr. Evennett: To ask the Minister for the Olympics which constituencies she has visited in Greater London since her appointment as Minister for London; and if she will make a statement. [194154]
Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (Mr. Dhanda) to the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) on 6 March 2008, Official Report, column 2781W. Since that answer, visits or meetings have also taken place in the constituencies of Croydon, Central and Twickenham.
Olympic Games 2012
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether she has set baselines or targets in order to assess the legacy effect the 2012 Games will have on (a) sporting participation, (b) regeneration, (c) tourism and (d) business in the UK; and how she plans to measure those effects. [193690]
Tessa Jowell: Work is taking place to develop the baseline and targets for the indicators in both Public Service Agreement 22 (Deliver a successful Olympic Games and Paralympic Games with a sustainable legacy and get more children and young people taking part in high quality PE and sport), and the Legacy Action Plan.
The forthcoming Legacy Action Plan will provide more information on our ambition for the legacy effect the 2012 games including the effects on sports participation, regeneration, tourism and business in the UK, and the programmes that will deliver those benefits.
An evaluation framework is being developed to ensure that the legacy effects of the games can be measured in a coherent and co-ordinated manner.
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what studies she has (a) commissioned and (b) plans to commission to assess the legacy effects of the 2012 Olympic Games on (i) sporting participation, (ii) regeneration, (iii) tourism and (iv) business in the UK. [193691]
Tessa Jowell: Prior to London winning the bid, a number of studies were commissioned to provide a range of independent opinions and to aid the development of Government policy in ensuring a UK legacy. These preliminary studies include the Olympic Games Impact Study produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Arup study.
In June 2007, we published our Legacy Promises, which include commitments on sporting participation, regeneration, tourism and business. Since then, we have conducted quantitative and qualitative research to test our legacy plans, and consulted stakeholders widely, including the nations and regions and other Departments. The policies worked up following this will be published shortly in the Legacy Action Plan.
An evaluation framework is being developed to ensure that the legacy effects of the games in all key areas are captured and measured effectively.
Olympic Games 2012: Young People
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether the London Youth Games will be able to use the Olympic facilities during their testing phase; and what provision has been made for the London Youth Games in the Olympics legacy. [194514]
Tessa Jowell [holding answer 14 March 2008]: LOCOG has not yet considered which events will be staged at the Olympic Park for the programme of test events leading up to the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games.
The Olympic Stakeholders are committed to long-term elite and community use for the Olympic Park facilities after the 2012 games. I understand the London Development Agency, as the interim client for the site, are considering how events such as the London Youth Games can be factored into future legacy plans.
Regeneration: Greater London
Ann Coffey: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will allocate funding to regenerate street and covered markets in the East End of London as part of the hosting of the 2012 Olympic Games. [190453]
Tessa Jowell: Street and covered markets play an important part in promoting strong and vibrant communities, diversity, regeneration, and entrepreneurship in their local areas.
While there are no specific plans to allocate Olympic funding to the regeneration of street and covered markets, the Olympic programme, by its very nature, will contribute to the wider regeneration of the East End of London. I am confident that street and covered
markets such as those of Spitafields, Stratford, and Walthamstow, and other such markets held in the five host boroughs, will benefit from the general uplift that regeneration will bring.
International Development
Africa: Overseas Aid
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what UK bilateral aid programmes are in operation in (a) Algeria, (b) Egypt, (c) Madagascar, (d) Malawi and (e) Mali; and what the (i) duration and (ii) cost of each is. [193677]
Gillian Merron: Of the countries listed, the Department for International Development (DFID) only has a bilateral programme in Malawi. Details of DFID’s spending plans for 2007-08 were published in the Departmental Annual Report 2007 which can be found at:
Chad: Overseas Aid
Mr. Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2008, Official Report, column 1091W, on Chad: overseas aid, what the objectives are of his Department’s review of funding commitments; and when the review is expected to be completed. [192027]
Gillian Merron: The review of funding commitments was carried out in the wake of the attack on N’Djamena. The objective of the review was to allow the UK Government to respond appropriately to the humanitarian needs arising from the upsurge in fighting, and to develop a plan for humanitarian programming in Chad for the coming financial year. As part of the review, the Department for International Development (DFID) examined the scale of need, the effectiveness of implementing partners, coverage of the affected populations, and the focus of other donors.
Following completion of the review, DFID has committed an additional £500,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to address new humanitarian need. This takes the total bilateral UK commitment to Chad to £7 million this financial year.
Civil Service Appeal Board
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many and what percentage of appeals by employees of (a) his Department and (b) its agencies were (i) heard and (ii) upheld by the Civil Service Appeal Board in each of the last 10 years; how much was awarded in compensation by the Board to each successful appellant in each year; what the reason was for each compensation award; how many appellants were reinstated by the Board in each year; and what the reason was for each (A) dismissal and (B) reinstatement. [192509]
Gillian Merron: Six DFID employees have raised appeals to the Civil Service Appeals Board in the last 10 years as set out in the following table. DFID has no agencies which employ staff.
| Reason for dismissal | Number of dismissals | Appeals upheld | Compensation | Re-instatements | |
Departmental Official Visits
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost was of overnight accommodation for (a) civil servants, (b) special advisers and (c) Ministers in his Department staying overnight in (i) mainland Great Britain, (ii) Northern Ireland, (iii) the Republic of Ireland and (iv) other countries in the last 12 months. [193535]
Mr. Malik: It is not possible to disaggregate costs in respect of hotel accommodation without incurring a disproportionate cost. Figures are available for subsistence costs for the Department for International Development (DFID), which reflect all domestic and overseas travel for Ministers, advisers and officials and include costs for all travel, accommodation and subsistence. The cost for the last 12 months was £10,870,388.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether consideration has been given to applying gender responsive budgeting to his Department’s budget. [192100]
Mr. Malik: The UK Government are supportive of efforts to achieve gender equality and continues to work very closely with both the Women’s National Commission and the Women’s Budget Group on promoting gender equality within the UK. In 2004, HM Treasury undertook a pilot project on gender analysis of expenditure with the Women’s Budget Group. The project demonstrated the value of gender analysis in some areas and identified what tools and expertise were necessary within government to carry out gender analysis, but that further work was needed before gender responsive budgeting could be implemented. In 2008, HM Treasury will be conducting further work that will determine whether it is prudent and feasible to disaggregate Departmental expenditure statistics by gender.
A Gender Equality Action Plan, launched in March 2007, set out how we will strengthen our focus and impact on gender equality across all our work. Gender equality issues are reflected as a target within DFID’s first Departmental Strategic Objective for 2008-11.
Department for International Development (DFID) resources are allocated in line with our departmental strategic priorities.
Departmental Sick Leave
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what percentage of working days lost by his Department’s staff was attributed to stress-related conditions in the most recent year for which figures are available. [187874]
Gillian Merron: For the calendar year 2007, 6.7 per cent. of total working days lost to sick absence were related to stress or stress related conditions.
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