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10 Nov 2008 : Column 904W—continued
Contracts: Cancellations
Mr. Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance (a) his Department and (b) the Certification Officer has produced on the application of the Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer's Home or Place of Work etc. Regulations 2008 to the sale of union membership in a workplace. [233540]
Mr. McFadden: The Department has produced general guidance, available on the BERR web site, about the Cancellation of Contracts Made in a Consumer's Home or Place of Work etc. Regulations 2008. The guidance does not specifically cover the application of the regulations to the sale of union membership in a workplace.
This is not an issue within the Certification Officer's jurisdiction and he has produced no guidance on the regulations.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East of 6 October 2008, Official Report, column 268W, on departmental buildings, what the cost of each refurbishment was. [233406]
Mr. McFadden: BERR did not undertake any refurbishments on its HQ estate during the period covered by the previous question to which this refers. The refurbishments listed in the answer given on 6 October 2008 were undertaken by Companies House and the Insolvency Service and I have approached their chief executives who will respond to the right hon. Gentleman directly.
Letter from Stephen Speed, dated 10 November 2008:
The Minister of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has asked me to reply to you directly in respect of your question (2007/4320), pursuant to the Answer to the Hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 6th October 2008, Official Report, column 268W, on departmental buildings, what the cost of each refurbishment was.
The Insolvency Service did not carry out any work that constitutes a refurbishment in the relevant period. Therefore, we did not incur refurbishment costs.
Letter from Gareth Jones, dated 10 November 2008:
I am responding on behalf of Companies House to your recently tabled Parliamentary Question to the Minister of State for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.
The costs of the refurbishments carried out by Companies House in the last 24 months are as follows:
Redecoration and carpeting of London office: £12,500
Refurbishment in Cardiff office: £560,000
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many external consultants were under contract to provide work for his Department as at 1 October 2008. [231503]
Mr. McFadden: The Department employs external consultants on time limited projects to provide objective advice and assistance when in-house skills are not available.
Our records show that as at 1 October 2008, 72 consultants were under contract to provide work for the Department.
The Department has recently introduced the CARA (Consultancy And Research Approval) process to monitor and provide authorisation, by the Senior Responsible Officer, of any Consultancy requirement that exceeds £85,000. CARA requires staff to seek approval for engagement of such services before contracts are entered into.
Departmental Lost Property
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what (a) equipment and (b) data were lost by his Department in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [231449]
Mr. McFadden: In the last 12 months, 1 November 2007 to date, the following equipment and data have been recorded as lost by BERR staff.
| Number | |
The table contains the losses for those parts of BERR which now form part of the Department for Energy and Climate Change.
Laptops belonging to BERR utilise full-hard disk encryption.
The Blackberry Handheld Devices also utilise full encryption. In addition when the loss is reported a “wipe” command is sent to the missing device.
BERR, in accordance with Cabinet Office guidance, did not report any personal data related incidents for the period 2007-08.
Departmental Mobile Phones
Mr. Crausby: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many mobile telephones his Department and its predecessor bought in each of the last five years. [232676]
Mr. McFadden:
The Department maintains records of the number of official mobile telephones held by staff that have been purchased through the Office of
Government Commerce Catalist Contract. BERR currently holds 949 mobile telephones under this contract. Our suppliers can only provide details of new orders over the last 12 months during which BERR has purchased 204 new mobile handsets. This figure includes upgrades and contract renewals on existing services. Earlier financial year figures are not available.
Departmental NDPBs
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what funding has been agreed with each of his Department’s non-departmental public bodies for the period 2008 to 2011. [229133]
Mr. McFadden [holding answer 22 October 2008]: Funding for 2008-09 agreed with each of the Department’s executive non-departmental public bodies, above £1 million, can be found on page 398 of the published Central Government Supply Estimates 2008-09—see extract and following link. The only body not on the list is “Sitpro” and we have agreed a figure of £800,000 for 2008-09. Funding for future years (i.e. 2009-10 and 2010-11) has not yet been agreed.
| Main Estimate 2008-09 — Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform | ||
| Notes to the Main Estimate (continued) | ||
| £000 | ||
| RfR Section | Body | Grants in aid |
Departmental Temporary Employment
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform which companies were used by his Department and its predecessor for providing temporary staff since its establishment; and what the value of contracts with each such company was. [229078]
Mr. McFadden:
Central records for 1999 show payments made on a transactional basis to providers of temporary
staff. These records, broken down by financial year and where applicable, by category of temporary staff, have been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Further information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Members Interests
Adam Price: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether the Secretary of State has declared his relevant interests to the Permanent Secretary in his Department. [234352]
Non-profit Making Associations
John Battle: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether he plans to unite social enterprises into a national organisation; and if he will make a statement. [233111]
Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
The Social Enterprise Coalition (SEC) was established in 2002 with the backing of the (then) DTI. SEC is the national representative body for all social enterprises, bringing together member bodies from across the sector including Co-operatives UK, the Development Trust Association, Social Firms UK and regional social enterprise networks. SEC represents over 10,000 social enterprises across the UK, providing them with a collective voice. SEC is one of the Cabinet Office’s strategic partners, and received core funding as part of this. SEC are a valued partner of Government, raising the profile of social enterprise and building capacity and encouraging co-operation across the sector.
Political Levy
Mr. Maude: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what state funding trades unions receive to assist with the cost of running 10-yearly ballots on their political funds; and what guidelines there are on the literature that may be sent with ballot papers. [233544]
Mr. McFadden: There is no state funding to unions to help them meet the cost of running political fund ballots. There are no statutory guidelines on the literature that may be posted out with ballot papers, though the law provides that those entitled to vote must be able to do so without interference or constraint.
Post Offices: Closures
Bob Spink: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many post office branches were open in Castle Point in each year since 1990. [234286]
Mr. McFadden: This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd (POL). I have therefore asked Alan Cook, Managing Director of POL, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Postage Stamps
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what oversight role the Shareholder Executive for Royal Mail has in the issue of postage stamps. [233170]
Mr. McFadden: Decisions relating to operational matters, which include decisions relating to Royal Mail’s postage stamps, are the direct responsibility of the company’s management.
It is not the role of the Shareholder Executive to involve itself in company decisions on the issue of postage stamps. The Department’s Postal Policy Unit which is separate from the Shareholder Executive does, however, have a representative on Royal Mail’s Stamps Advisory Committee.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform if he will assess whether the introduction of self-adhesive stamps in 2001 has led to an increase in the number of letters received at sorting offices without stamps. [233867]
Mr. McFadden: This is an operational matter for Royal Mail. I have therefore asked Adam Crozier, Chief Executive of Royal Mail, to reply direct to the hon. Member.
Copies of the letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Work and Pensions
Benefits
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) how many unprocessed housing benefit applications there were at the end of each quarter in each of the last five years (a) in total and (b) broken down by the lowest geographical area for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement; [231084]
(2) how many unprocessed council tax benefit applications there were at the end of each quarter in each of the last five years (a) in total and (b) broken down by the lowest geographical area for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [231076]
Kitty Ussher: The available information for the total number of housing benefit and council tax benefit claims outstanding per quarter by local authority has been placed in the Library.
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