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21 Oct 2008 : Column 194W—continued
Departmental Freedom of Information
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests have been responded to by the Department since May 2007; and in how many cases (a) information was wholly exempted, (b) information was partly exempted and (c) the requests were answered in full. [227662]
Ann McKechin: The Ministry of Justice publish Freedom of Information statistics for all Central Government Departments on a quarterly and annual basis. The information requested can be found on the following web pages:
The MoJ plan to publish the statistics for the quarter 3 monitoring period in December 2008.
Departmental Marketing
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department has spent on (a) advertising and (b) external consultants and advisers since March 2008. [227637]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office incurred no expenditure on advertising and external consultants between 1 April and 30 September 2008.
Departmental Official Visits
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent on overnight accommodation by his Department's civil servants in the last 12 months. [228780]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office does not separately record expenditure on overnight accommodation from other forms of subsistence such as meal allowances, day subsistence, incidental expenses and motor mileage. The total expenditure on all forms of subsistence for staff in 2007-08 was £38,053.
Departmental Pensions
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost of pension contributions incurred by his Department was in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2008-09. [227661]
Ann McKechin: The pension contributions incurred by the Scotland Office in each of the last three years were:
| Cost (£) | |
The planned expenditure for 2008-09 is £375,000.
Departmental Press Releases
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many press releases have been issued by his Department since May 2007. [227642]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office press office has a wide-ranging role within the Department which goes beyond the issuing of press releases. It is involved in planning and executing media plans on behalf of Ministers and the Office and daily contact with the media.
Since May 2007, the Department has issued 185 press releases. This figure does not include information issued orally in response to media inquiries, articles, operational and diary notes, nor does it include the Office’s collaborative work with other Government Departments regarding press and media activity in Scotland.
Departmental Public Participation
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings Ministers in his Department have had with members of the public since May 2007. [228117]
Ann McKechin: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State and I have frequent meetings with members of the public on a wide range of issues. Records of these meetings are not normally kept.
Departmental Secondment
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many of his Department's staff are seconded from each other Government Departments. [227639]
Ann McKechin: At present, the Scotland Office has 30 staff on secondment from the Scottish Executive and 20 staff on secondment from the Ministry of Justice.
Departmental Travel
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost of travel for his Department's staff between England and Scotland (a) has been in 2008 and (b) was in each of the previous five years. [227638]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office does not record the information in the format requested, however, the cost of domestic travel was:
| £ | |
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what expenditure his Department has incurred on international travel since May 2007. [227670]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office incurred no expenditure on foreign travel during the financial year 2007-08. Figures for 2008-09 will be available at the conclusion of the financial year.
Departmental Vehicles
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his Department’s expenditure on vehicles was in each of the last three financial years; and what the planned expenditure is for 2008-09. [227660]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office does not own any vehicles.
Departmental Visits Abroad
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings overseas Ministers in his Department have attended since May 2007. [228116]
Ann McKechin: Neither my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State nor I have been abroad since taking up our current offices. My hon. Friend the Member for Inverclyde (David Cairns) attended a range of meetings, briefings and events in his role as Minister of State at the Scotland Office while attending the Offshore Europe conference in Stavanger, Norway, from 25 to 27 August 2008. My right hon. Friend the Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Des Browne) attended a large number of overseas visits and meetings in his dual capacity as Secretary of State for Defence and Scotland.
Dorneywood
James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Horsham of 19 June 2008, Official Report, column 1187W, on Dorneywood: official hospitality, what use his Department has made of Dorneywood for official engagements in the last 12 months. [222150]
Ann McKechin: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the hon. Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Watson) on 20 October 2008, Official Report, columns 90-91W.
Dover House
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many times Dover House has been used to host events since May 2007; and what the cost of each such event was. [227640]
Ann McKechin:
Scotland Office Ministers have hosted a total of nine events at Dover house since May 2007. The cost of each event is detailed in the following table.
The Secretary of State has also granted permission for 32 other events to be held by third parties at their own expense. The purpose of all these events is to facilitate the representation of Scottish interests in the UK Parliament and Government. I am pleased that Members of Parliament from all parties have used these opportunities to meet key stakeholders, including the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire.
Republic of Ireland
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many meetings he has had with officials of the Irish Government since May 2007; and what topics were discussed at each such meeting. [227641]
Ann McKechin: Since his appointment, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland has had no such meetings. The right hon. Member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun (Des Browne) met with Irish Government officials on a number of occasions while carrying out his dual role as Secretary of State for Defence and Secretary of State for Scotland.
Scottish Parliament: Elections
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost of the election to the Scottish Parliament in 2007 was. [227659]
Ann McKechin: The Scottish Parliament and local government elections in 2007 shared a wide range of facilities and services and as a consequence, were jointly funded by the Scotland Office and local authorities. All parties therefore benefited from such an arrangement. An arrangement whereby both elections were held on different days would significantly add to the aggregate costs. A final figure for the costs of the Scottish Parliament election in 2007 is not yet available as accounts from returning officers are still being assessed; the initial estimate of cost was £19 million.
Solicitor-General
Anti-Semitism: Internet
John Mann: To ask the Solicitor-General in what initiatives arising out of the 13th Annual Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors, New Technologies and Challenges in Crime and Prosecution, relating to anti-semitic hate crime on the internet the Government are participating. [227788]
The Solicitor-General: There were no specific initiatives arising out of the 13th Annual Conference of the International Association of Prosecutors (IAP) in relation to anti-Semitic hate crime on the internet.
However, recognising that e-crime is one of the most rapidly expanding forms of criminality, during that event the Attorney-General announced the establishment of the Global Prosecutors' E-Crime Network (GPEN). This is an initiative developed by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in conjunction with the IAP which recognises the fact that prosecutors play a very significant role in combating all forms of e-crime, including hate crime on the internet, and that their knowledge and advice at an early stage of police investigations can be fundamental to success. The GPEN will comprise: a secure database for e-crime prosecution specialists from across the world; a channel for exchanging advice, queries and best practice between prosecutors; and host e-crime material including training packages and legal guidance that will constitute a virtual college for those who need access to training, and support. It will become fully operational early next year and will help keep prosecutors on top of the latest trends and developments in terms of technology, the law in other jurisdictions, and emerging forms of criminality—thereby raising standards of knowledge and improving prospects for successful prosecutions.
International Development
Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what administrative costs to his Department were associated with contributing to the Democratic Republic of Congo
Humanitarian Pooled Fund in 2007-08; and what funding provided by his Department to the fund was spent on in that year. [220418]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The associated cost to the Department for International Development (DFID) in contributing to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Humanitarian Pooled Fund is difficult to accurately disaggregate from the overall administrative costs of DFID in DRC. Administration costs for DFID DRC in 2007-08 are 4.4 per cent., with expenditure of just over £72 million. However, now the Pooled Fund is up and running, the costs of our oversight, monitoring and evaluation and lobbying for humanitarian reforms will be much less than 4.4 per cent. of our £30 million contribution to the pooled fund.
The DRC Humanitarian Pooled Fund (about £58 million in 2007) is managed by the United Nations (UN), with technical humanitarian expertise provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and financial management provided by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The management costs associated with the pooled fund are:
In 2008, OCHA/UNDP will require approximately £500,000 to provide the technical and managerial expertise, amounting to 0.5 per cent. of the fund.
UNDP charges 1 per cent. for the overall financial management of the fund, (about £580,000 in 2007).
UNDP also manages grants made directly to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and charges a further 5 per cent. to administer these (about £1 million in 2007).
Thus a total of about £2.08 million (about 3.5 per cent.) is spent to administer the Pooled Fund. As per standard practice, each UN agency and NGO receiving Pooled Funds can charge an overhead fee of up to 7 per cent. for each grant received.
In 2007 the Pooled Fund contributed to over 200 projects. A complete analysis of the results achieved by the fund is available in the 2007 Annual Report. The report can be downloaded on-line from:
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