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3 July 2008 : Column 1068W—continued
Ms Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households have been placed in temporary accommodation in each London local authority area by another London local authority in each of the last three years; and if she will make a statement. [214329]
Mr. Iain Wright: Data collected on temporary accommodation include the number of households placed in temporary accommodation by each London local authority at the end of each quarter, and which of these were housed in a different local authority district. However, information on which local authority area these households were housed in is not held centrally.
A table showing the number of households placed in temporary accommodation (TA) by each London local authority as at 31 March, and those of which were housed in another local authority district, has been provided today in answer to my hon. Friend's question (214327).
Olympics
Olympic Games 2012: Foreign Companies
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what percentage of contracts awarded to companies for the 2012 London Olympic Games has been awarded to foreign companies. [215897]
Tessa Jowell: As of May 2008, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has awarded over 650 contracts and 2 per cent. are from international companies.
As a public body, the ODA is fully committed to ensuring competitive tendering for contracts in compliance with UK and EU procurement law.
The ODA’s Procurement Policy, launched in March 2007, states it will:
“Encourage competition, locally, nationally and internationally through actively promoting tendering opportunities, to promote as wide and as vigorous a competition as can be achieved.”
Olympic Games 2012: Tourism
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what recent assessment she has made of the likely effects of the 2012 Olympics on tourism. [215285]
Tessa Jowell: The DCMS tourism strategy, “Winning: A tourism strategy for 2012 and beyond” includes the estimate there could be a £2.1 billion boost in tourism revenues as a result of the 2012 games. This is the central estimate of the additional revenues for the UK arising from the games, and is taken from a study commissioned jointly by VisitBritain and Visit London.
Leader of the House
Departmental Aviation
Mr. Maude: To ask the Leader of the House how many individual domestic air flights were undertaken within Great Britain by representatives of her Office in the most recent year for which figures are available; and at what cost. [215551]
Helen Goodman: No domestic air flights were undertaken during the financial year 2007-08 (the most recent year for which figures are available).
Departmental Pay
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Leader of the House how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers in her Office in each of the last 10 years. [215241]
Ms Harman: This information is available only at disproportionate cost, due to a machinery of government change.
Special advisers are appointed under terms and conditions set out in the Model Contract and Code of Conduct for Special Advisers, copies of which are in the Library of the House. Like all civil servants, special advisers are entitled to claim expenses.
Departmental Press Subscriptions
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Leader of the House how much was spent by her Office on subscriptions for magazines, newspapers and other publications in each of the last 24 months. [215220]
Ms Harman: Following a machinery of government change, information prior to 2006-07 is available only at disproportionate cost.
My Office spent £14,849.18 on subscriptions and publications including newspapers in 2006-07. However, the number of newspapers and subscriptions are kept under constant review to ensure value for money including the non-delivery of newspapers and magazines during a recess or when a Minister is not in the office.
Details of any payments in 2007-08 will only be available when the Department’s resource accounts are fully audited and laid before Parliament. This is expected to be before the 2008 summer recess.
Departmental Security
Mr. Maude: To ask the Leader of the House how many departmental identity cards or departmental passes have been reported lost or stolen by staff in her Office in the last 24 months. [215604]
Helen Goodman: From June 2006 to present, one departmental pass has been reported lost.
Departmental Television
Mr. Maude: To ask the Leader of the House to what premium Sky, digital terrestrial or cable television channels her Office subscribes; and at what yearly cost in the most recent period for which figures are available. [215645]
Helen Goodman: This service is provided centrally to the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons by the Cabinet Office. The total cost for the whole of the Cabinet Office in the 2007-08 financial year was £5,589.
Departmental Written Questions
David Simpson: To ask the Leader of the House how long on average her Office took to answer (a) ordinary written and (b) named day questions in each of the last three years. [215473]
Helen Goodman: The information requested is as follows:
| Named day questions answered on the specified day | Ordinary written questions answered within five working days | ||||
| Session | Percentage | Number | Percentage | Number | Average number of sitting day s to answer ordinary written questions |
This information is available on our website at:
Government Communications
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Leader of the House how many staff in her Office (a) are classified as Government communicators and (b) have access to the Government Communication Network. [215117]
Ms Harman: Press Office services are provided by the Cabinet Office Communication Group.
Any civil servant who works in a communication role can register online as an individual to gain access to GCN and the resources it provides through its website.
Public Accounts Commission
National Audit Office: Aviation
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission how many individual domestic air flights were undertaken within Great Britain by representatives of the National Audit Office in the most recent year for which figures are available; and at what cost. [215563]
Mr. Alan Williams: The National Audit Office informs me that in 2007-08 National Audit Office staff made 165 return and 85 single air trips on official business within Great Britain, making a total of 415 individual domestic flights. 411 were economy flights, which are selected unless a more flexible option is required for business purposes, and the total cost of all domestic flights was £30,452.
National Audit Office: Manpower
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission how many permanent staff within the National Audit Office are classed as (a) staff without posts and (b) part of a people action team. [215580]
Mr. Alan Williams: The National Audit Office informs me that there are currently no employees within the National Audit Office who are classed as “staff without posts”, and there are no staff in a “people action team”.
National Audit Office: Morning Star
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission how many copies of the Morning Star publication the National Audit Office subscribes to each week; and at what cost. [215669]
Mr. Alan Williams: The National Audit Office informs me that it does not subscribe to the Morning Star.
National Audit Office: Security
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chairman of the Public Accounts Commission how many departmental identity cards or departmental passes have been reported lost or stolen by staff of the National Audit Office in the last 24 months. [215613]
Mr. Alan Williams: The National Audit Office informs me that over the period 28 June 2006 to 27 June 2008, 62 National Audit Office passes have been reported as lost or stolen. Pass holders are required to report losses to the police and passes are deactivated immediately on receipt of a police report.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture: Disease Control
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his Department's policy is on the adoption of different measures to manage (a) biosecurity and (b) biosafety threats. [214222]
Jonathan Shaw: The terms biosecurity and biosafety are used differently in different contexts. Farmers are responsible for practising high standards of biosecurity on their premises in order to reduce the risk of disease being introduced on the premises. DEFRA has published biosecurity guidance for farmers on the DEFRA website.
Using the definitions in the recent Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee Report on Biosecurity in UK Research Laboratories (published 25 June 2008), laboratory biosafety (containment practices to prevent the unintentional exposure or release of pathogens) is the responsibility of the individual facilities and their management as the Callaghan Review of the regulatory framework for handling animal pathogens (published 13 December 2007) made clear. Following the publication of the Callaghan review, responsibility for inspection and enforcement under the Specified Animal Pathogens Order has been transferred from DEFRA to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Biosecurity (protection and control to prevent unauthorised access) policy and advice are provided to laboratories by the HSE and the National Counter Terrorism Security Office.
Agriculture: Subsidies
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assistance the Common Agricultural Policy provides for production of (a) biofuels and (b) tobacco; and if he will estimate the hectarage given over to each crop in the EU in the latest year for which figures are available. [213934]
Jonathan Shaw: Crops for biofuels may be grown on set-aside land without loss of set-aside payments. Growers may also apply for the EU’s Aid for Energy Crops (AEC) scheme for crops planted on non-set-aside land where there is already a contract with an energy end-user. This pays up to €45 per hectare for two million hectares of crops across the whole EU, but is subject to scale back when the number of acres exceeds this limit—as, for example, happened in 2007. We understand that this scheme may be abolished as part of the common agricultural policy (CAP) health check.
It is not possible to estimate accurately the number of hectares given over to crops for biofuels because the AEC can be paid for all energy crops, not just those destined for biofuels, but biomass for heat and electricity as well. Many farmers also choose to sell multi-use crops such as oilseed rape (OSR) on the spot market, where they could equally be used for biofuels or food products for humans or animals. However, the following figures are available on the European Commission’s website:
| EU arable land with energy crops, by type of support | ||||||
| Million hectares | ||||||
| 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006( 1) | 2007( 2) | ||
| (1) EU-25 (2) EU-27, estimate (3) Calculated from oilseed and cereals market balances (4) Assumed all rapeseed Sources: European Commission, DG Agriculture and Rural Development | ||||||
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