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21 Apr 2008 : Column 1390W—continued
Council Tax: Valuation
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 19 February 2008, Official Report, column 613W, on council tax: valuation, if she will place in the Library copies of the Valuation Office Agency's Council Tax Revaluation Programme Board (England) minutes for its meetings between 1 January 2005 to 21 November 2005. [193960]
John Healey: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my predecessor to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) on 27 April 2006, Official Report, column 1285W. These minutes relate to internal discussion and advice to Ministers on the formulation and development of Government policy.
Council Tax: Yorkshire and Humberside
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to Table 6 of Local Government Finance statistics on council taxes 2008-09, if she will clarify the figures listed for (a) Ryedale's and (b) Hart's average Band D precepts on council tax, excluding parish precepts, in relation to the figures set by each council. [198875]
John Healey: The Band D council tax figures that appear in table 6 of the Statistics Release ‘Council tax levels set by local authorities in England—2008-09’ are derived from figures submitted to the Department by authorities on their Budget Requirement forms. A copy of the Budget Requirement form can be found on the Communities and Local Government website at:
The column in table 6 headed ‘Average council tax for the authority excluding parish precepts (Band D)’ includes special expenses (that is amounts charged to part, rather than the whole, of an authority's area):
Departmental Alcoholic Drinks
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government at how many events held by her Department (a) wine and (b) Fairtrade wine were served in the last three years; and what assessment her Department has made of the merits of serving Fairtrade wine at future events. [196950]
Mr. Dhanda: Hospitality for departmental events is supplied through Communities’ contracted facilities management service which includes provision of catering. Since April 2005 there have been 59 events where they have supplied wine, however Fairtrade wine has not been provided at any of these events.
Her Majesty’s Government are committed to improving market access to producers in developing countries through increased participation in fair and sustainable supply chains.
Communities’ hospitality menu is kept under regular review. As part of this, Fairtrade wine has recently been added as an option.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether confidential or personal information has been compromised through the loss of property from her Department since 1997. [193435]
Mr. Dhanda: Except in exceptional cases, when it is in the public interest, it has been the policy of successive governments not to comment on breaches of security. However, following the publication of the Data Handling Procedures in Government: Interim Progress Report on 17 December 2007, Official Report, column 98WS, all Departments will cover information assurance issues in their annual reports.
Departmental Film
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many films have been produced in video, DVD and other digital formats by her Department in the last 36 months. [198865]
Mr. Dhanda: In this period, the Communications Directorate produced eight films supporting the Department's policies, for purposes including display at conferences and exhibitions.
Departmental Legislation
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criminal offences have been abolished by primary legislation sponsored by her Department and its predecessors since May 1997. [198289]
Mr. Dhanda: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Overseas Visits
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the (a) destination and (b) purpose was of each overseas visit undertaken by staff in her Department in the last 12 months. [198892]
Mr. Dhanda: In the 12 months to 31 December 2007 there have been 388 overseas visits undertaken by Communities and Local Government staff. Of the 388 visits, 362 were to Europe; four to Africa, 12 to North America, one to Japan, four to New Zealand and five to Asia (including the Middle East).
The purpose of these journeys was to represent the Department and provide expert advice on policy/subject issues.
All travel by staff employed by Communities and Local Government is undertaken in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the hourly rates of pay of all non-permanent staff working for her Department and its agencies were in each of the last 12 months; and how many staff were receiving each rate in each of those months. [196455]
Mr. Dhanda: There are a number of categories of workers which might be considered as non-permanent.
Some of staff our staff are employed on fixed term contracts and are considered as Departmental employees under the standard Office for National Statistics definitions. The following table shows the numbers of such staff for each month at the different rates of hourly pay.
| Bands defined by hourly rates of pay | |||||||||
| Civil Service Grade | Industrial grades | AA | AO | EO | HEO | SEO | Grade 7 | Grade 6 | Other |
| N umber employed each month (full- time equivalent basis) | |||||||||
| Civil Service Grade | Industrial grades | AA | AO | EO | HEO | SEO | Grade 7 | Grade 6 | Other |
These figures include Communities and Local Government staff who work in the Government Office network and the Department’s executive agencies, apart from the Planning Inspectorate for whom figures were not available.
The Department also makes use of temporary staff from employment agencies. Such staff are not paid from the Departmental payroll and as such are not classified as Departmental employees under the standard Office for National Statistics definitions. As 29 February there was 237 such temporary staff employed by the Department and its executive agencies. This figure excludes the Government Office network and the Planning Inspectorate for whom the information was not available in the required format. The hourly rates of these staff cannot be provided except at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Publications
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance is issued to members of her Department on the authorship and publication on the internet of material relating to their official duties; and if she will make a statement. [196741]
Mr. Dhanda: The Civil Service Code, the Civil Service Management Code and Propriety Guidance on Government Communications, all provide guidance to staff on the publication of material relating to their official duties. Copies of each of these are in the Library of the House. They are also available on the Cabinet Office website at:
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will place in the Library an electronic copy of the most recent edition of her Department’s staff handbook. [199142]
Mr. Dhanda: Our staff handbook has been developed as an interactive publication delivered through the Department’s intranet. It is not held in a format which allows it to be easily exported and therefore could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.
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