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20 Jun 2008 : Column 1242W—continued
Travelling People: Caravan Sites
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent representations her Department has received on the law in relation to gypsy caravan sites; and if she will establish a review of the operation of the relevant legislation. [212253]
Mr. Iain Wright: The Department receives a variety of correspondence in relation to Gypsy and Traveller policy. In December 2007, the independent Task Group on Site Provision and Enforcement for Gypsies and Travellers published its final report. It concluded that the Government's policy of firm but fair enforcement with proactive measures to increase site provision was the right approach. The Government published its response to the Task Group's report in April 2008. There are no plans to establish a review of the relevant Act(s).
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what restrictions exist on building traveller sites on sites of special scientific interest. [212654]
Mr. Iain Wright: Circular 1/06, “Planning for Gypsy and Traveller Caravan Sites”, makes it clear that, in areas with nationally recognised designations such as Sites of Special Scientific Interest, as with any other form of development, planning permission for Gypsy and Traveller sites should only be granted where it can be demonstrated that the objectives of the designation will not be compromised by the development.
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street: Planning Permission
Mr. Maude: To ask the Prime Minister whether any (a) planning applications and (b) licensing applications have been submitted in relation to the Downing street complex in the last 24 months. [210892]
The Prime Minister: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Phil Hope) on 19 June 2008, Official Report, column 1186W.
Economic and Monetary Union
Mr. Maude: To ask the Prime Minister on what date the euro changeover plan of Downing street was last updated; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recent version. [210891]
The Prime Minister: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office (Phil Hope) on 19 June 2008, Official Report, column 1187W.
Duchy of Lancaster
Departmental Accountancy
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s (a) chart of accounts and (b) resource account codes and usage descriptions for the current financial year. [210983]
Phil Hope: The Cabinet Office, like all Government Departments, is required by HM Treasury to map its resource accounting system to the Standard Chart of Accounts (SCOA), which is available on the Treasury website.
Departmental Aviation
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many domestic air flights members of (a) the Cabinet Office and (b) the Central Office of Information undertook within mainland Britain in the most recent year for which figures are available; and at what cost. [211112]
Phil Hope: The information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Conferences
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list the conferences hosted by his Department in each of the last two years; and what the cost was of each conference. [211694]
Edward Miliband: Units within the Cabinet Office use conferences and other types of event as one of a number of ways of engaging with stakeholders to support a range of Cabinet Office policies and activities.
The Cabinet Office does not keep a separate central record of these conferences or spend on them. Therefore, this information could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much his Department and its agency spent on branding and marketing activity in 2007-08. [212035]
Mr. Watson: The Cabinet Office's accounts for the 2007-08 financial year are currently being audited so final figures on branding and marketing expenditure are not yet available.
Departmental Pay
Lynne Featherstone:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what proportion of employees in the Prime Minister's Office who received
a performance-related bonus at their last appraisal were (a) male, (b) female, (c) from an ethnic minority, (d) disabled and (e) not heterosexual; and if he will make a statement. [208367]
Mr. Watson: The Prime Minister's Office forms part of the Cabinet Office.
62 per cent. of Cabinet Office staff were awarded a bonus in the 2007 pay award. This represents 884 people out of a total of 1,432 eligible staff and includes both SCS and non-SCS staff. Information on sexuality was not collected.
The following table shows the proportion of staff in each diversity group who received performance related bonuses:
| Percentage receiving bonus | Number receiving bonus | Total eligible for bonus | |
Strategy Unit: Manpower
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many members of the 10 Downing street Strategy Unit are seconded to each Government Department. [211786]
Mr. Watson: The Strategy Unit is based in the Cabinet Office. The Strategy Unit currently has 23.5 members of staff either on loan to or co-located with other Government Departments: the Department for Children, Schools and Families (seven); the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (six); the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (five); the Department of Health (2.5); HM Treasury (one); the Home Office (one); and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (one).
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
Animal Welfare: Departmental Responsibilities
Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the respective role and responsibilities are of (a) Trading Standards departments, (b) his Department and (c) others for the implementation of provision of European Council Directive 76/768 in respect of cosmetic experimentation on animals. [211597]
Mr. Thomas: The information is as follows.
(a) Trading Standards departments have day to day enforcement responsibility for the Cosmetic Product Safety Regulations 2008, including requirements relating to animal testing,
(b) The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is responsible for making the Cosmetic Product Safety Regulations and ensuring that proper enforcement procedures exist,
(c) No other bodies in the UK have legal responsibility for the implementation and enforcement of the Cosmetic Product Safety Regulations in relation to animal testing.
Balance of Trade: Bees
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the UK's balance of trade in bees and bee products was in each year since 1997 in standard prices; and if he will make a statement. [212419]
Mr. Thomas: The following table gives HMRC overseas trade statistics for the value of trade in honey and wax. Data for trade in live bees cannot be separated from trade in other animals.
| £ million | |||||
| Exports of natural honey | Exports of beeswax and other insect waxes | Imports of natural honey | Imports of beeswax and other insect waxes | Implicit balance | |
Departmental Accountancy
Mr. Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department’s (a) chart of accounts and (b) resource account codes and usage descriptions for the 2008-09 financial year. [210988]
Mr. Thomas: The Department’s chart of accounts will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
The chart of accounts for 2008-09 reflects the Department’s structure for the year and will not necessarily reflect the 2007-08 structure, or that for future years. The chart shows the relationship between parent codes (used for preparing resource accounts) and children codes (used for more detailed management purposes). Each code has a brief description that describes its use.
Departmental Marketing
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his Department's advertising and marketing budget was in each of the last five years. [210266]
Mr. Thomas: Spending on advertising procured through the Central Office of Information in the last five financial years by the Department and the former DTI is as follows:
| £ | |
| 2007-08 | |
| £ | |
| 2006-07 | |
| £ | |
| 2005-06 | |
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