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6 Oct 2008 : Column 86W—continued
Departmental Information
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what types of data have been sold by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations in the last 12 months. [222148]
Mr. Woodward: In the last 12 months, no data have been sold by the Northern Ireland Office or its agencies under the Re-use of Public Sector Information Regulations.
Departmental Official Residences
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what permanent residential accommodation is provided for use by civil servants in his Department; how many residential dwellings are provided; where they are located; and for what grade of civil servant they are provided. [222146]
Mr. Woodward: Where, for business reasons, staff are required by the Department to work away from their appointed office and commuting is not practical they are provided with accommodation. The total is as follows: London 18, Belfast four, Dundonald one, Holywood one and Helens Bay three. The standard provision is a flat but there are three houses in Northern Ireland. The properties are occupied by staff at all grades.
Departmental Procurement
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will place in the Library the names and addresses of each organisation that supplied goods and services to his Department in 2007-08, based on the purchase order data held in the Department’s financial database. [222144]
Mr. Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) would be able to provide the information requested only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Public Relations
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on each of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information’s Public Relations Framework in each of the last 36 months. [222145]
Mr. Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office and its agencies have made no payments to any of the external public relations and marketing companies included in the Central Office of Information’s Public Relations Framework during the last 36 months.
Departmental Surveillance
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many applications (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have made under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to (i) undertake directed surveillance, (ii) use covert human intelligence sources, (iii) acquire communications data and (iv) undertake intrusive surveillance in the last 24 months. [222139]
Paul Goggins: Figures on public authority use of covert techniques controlled by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (‘RIPA’) are published annually by the Interception of Communications Commissioner, the Chief Surveillance Commissioner and the Intelligence Services Commissioner who each have particular inspection and oversight responsibilities under RIPA. The latest reports were laid before Parliament and copies placed in the House Library on 22 July.
The figures provided in the reports are not broken down by individual public authority use of specific covert technique as, depending on the particular technique and authority using it, this could either reveal sensitivities or be misleading. The question of further disclosure for any particular public authority is a matter for the relevant Commissioner.
EU Law
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many officials in his Department are wholly or mainly tasked with the negotiation, implementation or the administration of EU legislation and consequent policies. [222275]
Paul Goggins: This Government are firmly committed to the importance of the EU in delivering on 21st century challenges. The EU is of central importance to the work of HM Government across all Departments. It is relevant to a wide range of policy areas, and to the work of many Government officials. As such, the specific information requested is not held centrally, and to provide it would involve disproportionate costs.
Fish
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much fish was procured by his Department and at what cost in each of the last five years, broken down by species; and what amount and value of such fish met the Marine Stewardship Council standard in each such year, broken down by species. [217889]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office does not keep a record of the amount of expenditure on fish, the species purchased or whether it met the Marine Stewardship Council standard. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Government Communications
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff in (a) his Department and (b) its agencies (i) are classified as Government communicators and (ii) have access to the Government Communication Network. [215112]
Mr. Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office and its agencies have a total of 14 staff classified as Government communicators. Of these staff, 11 have access to the Government Communications Network.
Olympic Games 2012
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time equivalent members of staff of his Department are working on policy relating to the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics Games. [221873]
Mr. Woodward: No members of staff in the Northern Ireland Office are working on policy relating to the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics games.
Royal Ulster Constabulary: Reserve Forces
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans his Department has to recognise the service of the Royal Ulster Constabulary part-time Reserve; and if he will make a statement. [222907]
Mr. Woodward: The Royal Ulster Constabulary Part Time Reserve is already recognised by:
(i) the award of a long service medal after 15 years service;
(ii) payment of an Northern Ireland allowance (on a pro rata basis); and
(iii) a stakeholder pension scheme (since 2001).
Royal Ulster Constabulary: Special Branch
Mr. Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many former RUC Special Branch officers (a) took early retirement and (b) transferred to other police forces in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008. [223707]
Paul Goggins: The Chief Constable has provided the following figures for the number of officers leaving Intelligence Branch:
| Retired | Transferred to other police forces | |
Stress
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what arrangements his Department has in place to assist officials to overcome the effects of stress experienced in the workplace. [222186]
Mr. Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office is committed to the well-being of its employees. It has in place policies on the prevention, recognition and management of stress at work.
The office also runs regular events to promote health and well-being.
Taxis
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies spent on taxis in the last financial year for which figures are available. [223037]
Mr. Woodward: (a) During 2007-08, the Northern Ireland Office's (NIO) expenditure on invoiced taxi fares was £42,455. Taxi fares were also claimed by employees as reimbursable expenses but these costs can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
(b) The invoiced expenditure on taxi fares for the NIO's agencies during 2007-08 are shown in the following table:
| Agency | Amount (£)t |
Further taxi fares were claimed by employees as reimbursable expenses but these costs can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Duchy of Lancaster
Civil Service: Codes of Practice
Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many complaints were made by civil servants alleging breaches of the Civil Service code in each of the last 10 years. [222611]
Mr. Watson: Information on complaints received within Departments is not collected centrally.
The Civil Service Commissioners report on the number of appeals they have handled each year in their annual report. Copies of the Commissioners' annual reports for the period 1997-98 to 2007-08 are available in the Library and can also be obtained online at
Departmental Databases
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what use (a) his Department and (b) its agencies make of (i) MOSAIC data and (ii) ACORN data. [221990]
Mr. Watson: The Cabinet Office makes no direct use of MOSAIC or ACORN data.
Departmental Disciplinary Proceedings
Mr. Baron: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what the five most serious disciplinary breaches have been in his Department in the last 12 months; and what action was taken to correct the breach in each case; [222560]
(2) what the five most serious disciplinary breaches in the Prime Minister's Office were in the last 12 months; and what steps were taken in response to each breach. [223050]
Mr. Watson: There have been four cases where disciplinary charges have been proven in the Cabinet Office, which includes the Prime Minister's Office, within the last 12 months. To protect the privacy of individuals, and in accordance with statistical conventions, details have not been provided.
Where charges of misconduct have been proven, Cabinet Office employees are penalised in line with the Cabinet Office disciplinary policy. Penalties for serious or gross misconduct might include one or more of the following:
Formal written warning;
Downgrading;
Withdrawal or withholding of pay award and/or bonus awards;
Ban on promotion;
Loss of security clearance;
Removal from post attracting additional pay or allowances;
Suspension with no pay;
Dismissal.
If a breach has occurred because of management failure or a weakness in policies or practice, a review is carried out and appropriate remedial action taken.
Departmental Retirement
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 9 July 2008, Official Report, column 1625W, on departmental retirement, how many requests to work beyond the standard retirement age were received by his Department in each of the last five years. [222432]
Mr. Watson: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for South-West Bedfordshire (Andrew Selous) on 25 October 2008, Official Report, column 488W.
Employment: Lincolnshire
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many (a) part-time and (b) full-time jobs there were in (i) Cleethorpes constituency, (ii) North East Lincolnshire and (iii) North Lincolnshire in each year since 1997. [222784]
Mr. Watson: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 6 October 2008:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on how many (a) part-time and (b) full-time jobs there were in (i) Cleethorpes constituency, (ii) North East Lincolnshire and (iii) North Lincolnshire in each year since 1997. (222784)
The Office for National Statistics compiles employment statistics for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS) and its predecessor the annual Labour Force Survey (LFS). This is the preferred source for estimates at the detailed level requested although the estimates refer to the number of people in employment rather than the number of jobs.
The attached table provides estimates of the number of people aged 16 and over, in full and part-time employment, resident in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire.
As these estimates are for a subset of the population in small geographical areas, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty.
| Number of people, aged 16 and over, in full and part time( 1) employment, resident in Cleethorpes parliamentary constituency( 2) , North East Lincolnshire( 3) and the North Lincolnshire( 3) ,1998 - 2007. | |||||||||
| Thousand | |||||||||
| Cleethorpes( 2) | North East Lincolnshire( 3) | North Lincolnshire( 3) | |||||||
| Full time | Part time | Total | Full time | Part time | Total | Full time | Part time | Total | |
| (1) Includes those full-time and part-time on New Deal. (2) 1995 parliamentary constituency boundary to February 2004,2005 parliamentary constituency boundary revision thereafter. (3) Local Authority District. (4) Based on annual Labour Force Survey (LFS). (5) Based on Annual Population Survey (APS). Notes: 1. As these estimates are for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, they are based on small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. 2. Due to rounding the totals may not sum. 3. Figures are based on the most recent population estimates published in 2007. Source: ONS Annual Population Survey and annual Labour Force Survey | |||||||||
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