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17 Sep 2008 : Column 2254W—continued
Corporate Hospitality
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions she has accepted corporate hospitality in the last 12 months. [171300]
Mr. Byrne: Chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code sets out the rules on the registration of hospitality.
Departmental Buildings
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department spent on (a) new capital investment and (b) refurbishment of property in each of the last 10 years, broken down by project. [212866]
Mr. Byrne: The Department's accounts system does not hold the information at the requested level of detail. An answer could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Departmental Conferences
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will list the conferences hosted by her Department in each of the last two years; and what the cost was of each conference. [211698]
Mr. Byrne: The amount spent on conference activity in 2006-07 was £9,325,652. The main conferences were “Tackling Drugs—Changing Lives”; New Asylum Model; eBorders Industry events; Schools Pack and “Drugs, Alcohol and Social Work”.
The amount spent on conference activity in 2007-08 was £4,020,987. The main conferences were “Victim Support—the changing landscape of crime”; “Tackling Drugs: Changing Lives”; National Identity Scheme Bidder; Young People Consultation and European Refugee Fund external stakeholder event.
Information on the cost of each conference could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, as the data are not recorded separately on the Department’s accounting systems.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether personal data held by her Department are always encrypted prior to being transferred to compact discs for transmission. [180400]
Mr. Byrne: In line with current Cabinet Office guidance, the Home Office does not always encrypt personal data before transferring it by disc. Since 22 November 2007, the Home Office has been undertaking a review of its technical, process and procedural arrangements to ensure that the risk of data being compromised is managed and reduced to a minimum.
I also refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007, Official Report, column 1179:
“...I have asked the Cabinet Secretary and security experts to ensure that all Departments and all agencies check their procedures for the storage and use of data...”
An interim progress report on the review was published by the Cabinet Office through a written ministerial statement on 17 December 2007, Official Report, column 98WS. This included a recommendation to enhance the transparency with Parliament, and the public about the action taken to safeguard information and the results of that action, through publication of results Departmental annual reports and an annual report to Parliament.
Departmental ICT
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) mobile telephones, (b) personal digital assistants and (c) laptop computers issued to departmental staff were reported (i) lost, (ii) missing and (iii) stolen since 2001. [184321]
Mr. Byrne: We only have accurate information for the last three years.
In 2005 26 mobiles were recorded as lost, seven as stolen and four as missing. No personal digital assistants (PDAs) were recorded as lost, stolen or missing, three laptops were reported as lost and 11 laptops were reported as stolen.
In 2006 seven mobiles were recorded as lost and three as missing. Five PDAs were reported as lost and two were reported as stolen. Additionally, three laptops were reported as lost, one as missing and 10 as stolen.
In 2007 43 mobile telephones were reported as lost and four were reported as stolen. Nine PDAs were reported as lost and three stolen. Additionally, three laptops were reported as lost and 12 reported as stolen.
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what IT contracts her Department and its agencies have entered into in the last two years. [215119]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Department and its agencies have awarded the following information technology (IT) contracts in the last two years.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the change in the number of employees in her Department and its agencies has been since July 2006. [217064]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Office annual reports provide the staff numbers for each of the last two years.
2007-08 Annual Report, information is available on page 102, table reference 5.6
2006-07 Annual Report, information is available on page 112, table reference 5.6
In 2006-07 the Home Office HQ included the following departments: Communities Group, National Offender Management Service (NOMS) and Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR). NOMS and OCJR left in May 2007 to join the new Ministry of Justice, and Communities Group transferred to Department for Communities and Local Government in May 2006.
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much her Department and its agencies spent on branding and marketing activity in 2007-08. [212054]
Mr. Byrne: The Home Office and its agencies (the UK Border Agency, the Identity and Passport Service and the Criminal Records Bureau) spent a total of £10,208,700 on branding and marketing activity in 2007-08.
Departmental Overtime
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of overtime payment paid to staff in her Department was in each of the last 12 months, broken down by pay grade. [221303]
Mr. Byrne: Home Office policy is that overtime working is kept to a minimum and used only in periods of exceptional work pressure. However, because of the nature of immigration work, immigration staff in the UK Border Agency are routinely required to work shifts which attract overtime payments, including premium payments for all weekend working (whether or not it is overtime).
As immigration staff represent a significant proportion of total staff, over 75 per cent. of overtime cost is attributable to immigration staff duties, most of which will be due to the need to undertake routine shift work. Immigration staff are also required to stay beyond their usual shift working time to complete passenger casework and minimise disruption to the majority of the travelling public.
Table 1, placed in the House Library, summarises all gross overtime payments made to employees in the core Home Office, UK Border Agency, Identity and Passport Service and Criminal Records Bureau, for each of the last 12 months. The data are broken down by grade and also record, separately, immigration staff. It has not proved possible to include employer pension and employer national insurance costs without incurring disproportionate costs.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers in her Department in each of the last 10 years. [215224]
Mr. Byrne: Information on how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by special advisers from 1998 to 2001 is not held centrally. Information from 2002 to 2008 is as follows:
| £ | |
Procedures for reimbursing staff expenses are set out in the staff handbook and are in line with the provisions set out in the Civil Service Management Code. The code can be viewed at:
Departmental Postal Services
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps her Department has taken to monitor the cost of its mail services in the last 12 months. [221491]
Mr. Byrne: For the last 12 month, the cost of mail services has been monitored at regular intervals to ensure that mail budgets are not exceeded and value for money is secured. The Department has liaised with the existing, as well as alternative, mail service providers in order to review efficiency and ensure best value.
Entry Clearances
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which 80 immigration routes the Government are replacing; and how many entry clearances were granted under each route in the latest year for which figures are available. [212857]
Mr. Byrne [holding answer 20 June 2008]: Those routes scheduled to be replaced under the Government's points system include:
Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland scheme
Highly Skilled Migrant programme
Innovators
International Graduates scheme
Investors
Persons intending to establish themselves in business
Self-employed lawyers
Writers, composers and artists
Airport-based operational ground staff
Intra-company transfer
Jewish agency employees
Ministers of Religion, Missionaries and Members of Religious Orders
Named researchers
Overseas qualified nurse or midwife
Overseas representatives (news media)
Sabbatical posts
Seafarers
Training and work experience scheme (also tier 5)
Work permit employment (also tier 5)
Association of American Study Abroad programme
Bar students
Exchange students
Music students
Pestalozzi Childrens' Trust
Pupillage
Resit of Examinations
Riding schools
Sandwich students
St. George’s University School of Medicine
Student nurses
Students
Welbeck college (Army recruits)
Writing up a thesis
Au Pair (non EEA)
British Universities North America Club
China Graduate Work Experience programme
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