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22 July 2008 : Column 1034W—continued
There were no staff on secondment from other Government Departments (c). The number of staff on secondment from other organisations by pay band/grade during the last five years (d) is shown in Table 2.
| Table 2: Inward secondments | |||||
| 1 April each year | |||||
| 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
Departmental Vetting
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what procedures his Department follows for checking the criminal records of employees; and if he will make a statement. [213125]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department for Culture, Media and Sport follows the HMG Baseline Personnel Security Standard which includes a verification of unspent criminal records. The Defence Vetting Agency arranges for a 20 per cent. check of the successful applicants on our behalf. This will increase to 100 per cent. from 1 October 2008.
Digital Broadcasting
Mr. Charles Kennedy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has to assist households unable to receive satellite and terrestrial television signals after the digital switchover has taken place. [218130]
Andy Burnham: Digital terrestrial television (DTT) coverage is planned to reach 98.5 per cent. of households—the same as pre-switchover analogue terrestrial coverage reception. Digital satellite services are available now to 98 per cent. of UK households.
Ofcom are continuing planning work with a view to minimising the number of viewers predicted to have poor or no coverage after switchover. The switchover in Selkirk that begins in November may help us to assess whether this is a significant issue. For those households unable to receive DTT or satellite services, specific advice is available from Digital UK on alternative platforms available to them.
Lost Working Days
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many working days have been lost due to industrial action by employees for which his Department is responsible in each year since 1997. [218053]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Information is only available for the last five years and is shown in the table.
| Calendar year | Days lost |
| Note: In March 2008, 52 staff took two hours industrial action and in April 2008, 44 staff took two hours industrial action by walking out. | |
Olympic Games
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the Answer of 2 June 2008, Official Report, columns 613-4W, on the Olympic Games, what estimate he has made of the cost of Ministers and officials from his Department attending the Beijing Olympic Games. [219475]
Mr. Sutcliffe: All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers, and travel by DCMS officials is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code, copies of which are available in the Library.
DCMS has endeavoured to ensure the best possible price for travel and accommodation to the Olympic Games. Officials attending the Observer Programme and those from the DCMS Press Office have arranged these through LOCOG to achieve this.
Sports: Finance
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consultations the Big Lottery Fund undertakes with Sport England before making grants for sport-related activities; and if he will make a statement. [220510]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 21 July 2008]: The Big Lottery Fund has advised that Big and Sport England liaise frequently on matters of mutual interest, including Big’s sport related programmes.
The knowledge and expertise of Sport England, working in partnership with Big on its New Opportunities in PE and Sport programme, has been vital in ensuring the programme is a success. Big (and its predecessor body, the New Opportunities Fund) and Sport England have also worked jointly to fund programmes and projects when it is felt that they can support each other to meet each organisation’s objectives, including the Active England and Awards For All programmes and the Active Places database of sports facilities.
Sports: Private Sector
Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what progress has been made in raising the £100 million for elite sport from the private sector announced in the 2006 Budget; and if he will make a statement. [218345]
Andy Burnham [holding answer 14 July 2008]: The Department has made progress in developing a range of proposals to raise private sector sponsorship to support the elite programme. We are in detailed discussions with a number of interested parties about the precise nature and scope of a national sponsorship scheme to help our athletes prepare for London 2012.
This week we have appointed Fast Track Sales as our official fund-raising partner.
I will make a further announcement next month.
UNESCO Convention on Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what consultation he has undertaken on the ratification of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage. [220611]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 21 July 2008]: We are in regular discussion with the historic environment community and other Government Departments that have an interest in this and other issues but there has been no formal public consultation on this subject. The position of the Government in respect of ratification is kept under constant review.
Leader of the House
Departmental Delivery Services
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Leader of the House what steps her office has taken to monitor the cost of its mail services in the last 12 months. [221489]
Ms Harman: Monitoring the cost of mail services for the office of the Leader of the House of Commons is handled by the Cabinet Office. Mail services are provided by the Cabinet Office's facilities management providers who decide the most economical method of sending mail externally, unless instructed by the customer to use a specific service, e.g. recorded or special delivery.
Public Sector: Pay
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Leader of the House what the median relevant increase for the public sector groups which will in future be used in the uprating formula for the salaries of hon. Members was in each of the last 10 years. [217714]
Helen Goodman: The information requested is not easily obtainable within the normal timescales for answering written parliamentary questions. I will write to the hon. Member with the information shortly.
Substantive answer from Helen Goodman to Paul Burstow:
I promised to write in response to your Parliamentary Question of 9 July asking “what the median relevant increase for the public sector groups which will in future be used in the uprating formula for the salaries of hon. Members was in each of the last 10 years.”
In order to determine the median relevant increase for the last 10 years data needed to be gathered from a range of Government Departments and this led to the slight delay in responding.
The median increase for the public sector groups which will in future be used in the uprating formula for hon. Member's salaries in each of the last 10 years is as set out below:
| Percentage | |
I hope that this is helpful.
I am placing a copy of this letter in the House of Commons Library.
Redundancy Pay
Lynne Jones: To ask the Leader of the House what redundancy package is available for hon. Members’ staff; what the reasons are for its provisions; and if she will make a statement. [221265]
Helen Goodman: Members’ staff contracts specify that individuals who are made redundant qualify for payment in accordance with the statutory requirement, an amount which is based on age and length of service. Such payments are subject to a minimum of two years continuous employment.
In addition to the basic contractual entitlement, Members have the discretion to make a matching redundancy payment to staff from their Staffing Allowance or from the Winding Up Allowance made available to them on leaving the House.
For Members who leave at a general election, or who stand down at other times, any contractual redundancy payment is charged to central funds and not parliamentary allowances.
Members who choose to restructure their offices during a Parliament, and in the process make staff redundant, must fund redundancy payments from their parliamentary allowances.
These arrangements were approved by the Members Estimate Committee after discussion by the Advisory Panel on Members’ Allowances.
Transport
Aircraft
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what aircraft types are used for scheduled domestic passenger flights in the UK; and what the passenger capacity is of each. [219752]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 17 July 2008]: A table showing the aircraft types used for scheduled domestic passenger flights in the UK in 2007 and their passenger capacity (based on average seats per flight) has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
The data have been provided to the Department by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA); they are not published by the CAA.
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what aircraft types are used for scheduled domestic passenger flights in the UK; and what distance was travelled on such flights by each aircraft of each type in each of the last three years. [219962]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 21 July 2008]: Tables showing the aircraft types used for scheduled domestic passenger flights in the UK in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and the distance travelled by each have been placed in the Library of the House.
The data have been provided to the Department by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA); they are not published by the CAA.
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