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7 Oct 2008 : Column 556W—continued
Departmental Air Travel
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether those staff of (a) his Department and (b) its agencies who are entitled to business class or first class air travel are permitted to (i) travel in a cheaper class to the destination and (ii) benefit in monetary terms or kind from the saving. [221992]
Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) on 14 July 2008, Official Report, column 153W.
Departmental Appeals
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on how many occasions the Cabinet Office has instructed the Treasury Solicitor to seek leave to appeal to the House of Lords from (a) the Court of Appeal and (b) the House of Lords itself in each of the last 10 years; and on how many occasions the application was rejected. [220829]
Kevin Brennan: The Cabinet Office seeks advice from the Treasury Solicitor’s Department on legal matters throughout the year. However, the information requested is not held centrally and can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.
Departmental Buildings
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what the location is of each office occupied by (a) the Cabinet Office and (b) the Central Office of Information which has been (i) newly occupied and (ii) refurbished in the last 24 months; and what the floor area in square metres is of each. [221988]
Kevin Brennan: Neither the Cabinet Office nor the Central Office of Information has newly occupied any offices over the last 24 months.
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to page 106 of the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08, if he will provide a breakdown of the fixed asset expenditure incurred in relation to the (a) £4.7 million on 10 to 12 Downing Street, (b) £2.0 million on 70 Whitehall, (c) £1.2 million on Admiralty Arch and (d) £0.5 million on minor spend, furniture and fittings. [222485]
Kevin Brennan: A breakdown of the fixed asset figures provided on page 106 of the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts 2007-08 into specified work packages can only be provided at a disproportionate cost.
Departmental Computers
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of (a) the number of computer devices left on overnight in his Department when not in use and (b) the cost per year of leaving computer devices on overnight when not in use in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [217859]
Mr. Watson: As part of the Department's continuing sustainable development programme, we use software tools on the corporate IT network to remotely switch off overnight all desk top computers that are logged off but are not switched off. All staff are instructed to switch off their computers and monitors when not in use; this software supports this instruction. Statistics are not collated on those computers left switched-on.
Departmental Health and Safety
Philip Davies:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many incidents have been reported by
his Department under the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 since 27 June 2007. [222637]
Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) on 13 March 2008, Official Report, column 593W.
Departmental Mobile Telephones
Philip Davies: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many mobile telephones have been (a) purchased, (b) repaired and (c) replaced by the Prime Minister’s Office since 27 June 2007. [222602]
Kevin Brennan: In the calendar year since 27 June 2007, the Cabinet Office, which includes the Prime Minister’s Office, has purchased 237 mobile phones, had five repaired and replaced 41.
Departmental Official Residences
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 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. [221991]
Kevin Brennan: No Cabinet Office civil servants are provided with permanent residential accommodation at public expense.
Departmental Public Participation
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what ( a) listening exercises and (b) public forums his Department has held in each of the last two years; what the (i) purpose and (ii) cost was in each case; and who the private contractor was and how much it was paid in each case; [221346]
(2) what (a) reviews and (b) public consultations have been initiated by his Department since 27 June 2007. [221373]
Kevin Brennan: The Cabinet Office held three events in March 2008 to identify the most effective way to deliver improved community safety in partnership with local people as part of the crime and communities review. The events were attended by over 600 people and comprised of open discussions and interactive audience participation. The events cost a total of £256,632, including VAT.
Following a competitive tendering exercise, M Integrated Solutions was awarded the contract and was paid £250,758, including VAT. The Central Office of Information was paid £5,874 to cover the tendering and other administrative costs.
Departmental Sick Leave
David Simpson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) how many and what percentage of staff in his Department have had more than two periods of sickness absence of less than five days in each of the last three years; [218727]
(2) how many staff in his Department have had five or more periods of sickness absence of less than five days in two or more of the last five years. [218961]
Mr. Watson:
The incidence of Cabinet Office reported periods of staff sickness absence and headcount vary
during each year. The number of staff with periods of sickness absence of less than five days in each of the last three years are detailed in the following table and are expressed as percentages of the Department’s average annual headcounts.
| Five or more of less than five days | Percentage | Four of less than five days | Percentage | Three of less than five days | Percentage | Two of less than five days | Percentage | |
Departmental Surveillance
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 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. [221987]
Kevin Brennan: The Cabinet Office is not named under Schedule 1 of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000. Therefore, it has made no applications under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000.
Departmental Television
Mrs. Lait: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr. Pickles) of 24 June 2008, Official Report, column 238W, on departmental television, what premium satellite channels or packages are subscribed to by his Department for each of the three subscriptions. [222781]
James Duddridge: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) of 24 June 2008, Official Report, column 238W, on departmental television, what the premium channels subscribed to are. [222216]
Kevin Brennan: The premium packages the Department subscribes to are Sky Mixes and Sky General.
Departmental Training
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how much (a) his Department and (b) its agency spent on training courses for staff in the last (i) 12 months and (ii) five years. [210555]
Mr. Watson: The Department has spent the following amounts on training, language courses, conferences and seminars in the last five years:
| £ | |
| Expenditure | |
Government Departments: Public Participation
Anne Milton: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent guidance the Cabinet Office has issued on the manner in which public consultations should be conducted by Government Departments and their agencies; and whether an insistence on the use of designated response forms is compliant with that guidance. [224244]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 17 September 2008]: I have been asked to reply.
The Government have recently revised their Code of Practice on Consultation. The new code, which will be supported by practical guidance, takes effect from November 2008. The current code and the new code set out good practice principles that Departments should adhere to when running formal, written consultation exercises and as such, they do not prescribe the approach that Departments should take with regard to submitting their responses.
Intelligence Services: Vetting
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 25 June 2008, Official Report, column 396W, on intelligence services: vetting, for what reason information on security vetting is not held centrally; what arrangements are in place for the collation and co-ordination of information received through security vetting; and if he will make a statement. [220543]
Kevin Brennan: Government Departments collect information and make decisions in respect of staff and contractors as part of the security vetting process. This information is classed as sensitive personal data and there is currently no requirement for such information to be held centrally. There is provision for Government Departments to share information on individual cases as necessary.
NHS: Finance
Mr. Bone: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what figures were collated by the Office for National Statistics on the net cost of the national health service in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Scotland and (e) Northern Ireland in each of the last 11 years. [224075]
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, 7 October 2008:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your question on which figures are collated by the Office for National Statistics on the net cost of the National Health Service in (a) the UK, (b) England, (c) Wales, (d) Scotland and (e) Northern Ireland in each of the last 11 years. (224075)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) collates and publishes data on the expenditure by Government on health services overall,
but does not collate statistics on the NHS alone. Examples of Government expenditure on health services outside the NHS are the expenditure on health by Ministry of Defence, and the education and training of NHS medical staff.
Data on Government expenditure on health are sourced from HM Treasury at a UK level, and are not collated or published by country or region of the UK.
In January 2007 the ONS published an article 'Public Service Productivity: Health Care'. This article contained a table showing general government final consumption expenditure on health from 1995 to 2006. The table is shown below.
| Expenditure on general government health care— 1995 to 2006 United Kingdom | |||||||||||||
| £ billion | |||||||||||||
| 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | Average annual change 1995-2006 (%) | |
| Note: 1. These figures differ from those used in Blue Book 2007 (ONS 2007d), as they incorporate data revisions to the historical series. Also, by convention, Blue Book 2007 includes expenditure on capital items in GP surgeries within intermediate consumption. The estimates in this table include such expenditure in capital consumption. | |||||||||||||
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