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26 Nov 2008 : Column 1572W—continued
Redundancy
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff in his Department left under (a) involuntary and (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in each year since 2005-06; how many of them in each case were paid (i) up to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000 in the year before they left; and how much (A) was spent in each of those years and (B) is planned to be spent on such schemes in (1) 2008-09 and (2) 2009-10 by (Y) his Department and (Z) each of his Department’s agencies. [237344]
Mr. Hoon: I refer the hon. Member to my answer given today (UIN 239154). The additional information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of his Department’s staff who left under (a) an involuntary and (b) a voluntary exit scheme in each year since 2005-06 received a severance package of (i) up to £25,000, (ii) £25,001 to £50,000, (iii) £50,001 to £75,000, (iv) £75,001 to £100,000 and (v) over £100,000; and if he will make a statement. [239154]
Mr. Hoon: The central Department and its agencies recorded the following exits in the last three financial years:
| Number of exits | ||||
| Size of severance package (£) | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | |
The Department has run a small number of voluntary exits schemes. All applications were reviewed by a panel, taking into account the Department’s efficiency targets, the future need for certain skills and grades and overall value for money. As agreed with the trades union, we made no compulsory redundancies and therefore have had no involuntary exits. Exits for reasons such as discipline or performance are not captured on this table.
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency could only provide the information requested at disproportionate cost.
Roads: Closures
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cost was to his Department of the objections to the stopping-up order at the highway between the Knapp and Castle Street, Dursley resulting in an enquiry having to be held. [239526]
Paul Clark: The Stopping Up Order between the Knapp and Castle street, Dursley did not result in a Public Inquiry being held.
The Order was made by the Secretary of State on 5 November 2008 following a sole objection which was not made by a local authority or statutory utility supplier. The Secretary of State was satisfied that because of the special circumstances of the case, the holding of a Public Inquiry was unnecessary (Town and Country Planning Act 1990 S252 (5) refers). The Secretary of State subsequently took a decision to make the Order following the consideration of the written representations of the objector and the applicant. A copy of the decision letter was copied to the relevant parties on 5 November 2008.
No records of costs incurred by the Department are held in connection with the processing of an application for a Stopping Up Order, including for those which attract objections and which are dealt with either through a written representations procedure or by the holding of a Public Local Inquiry.
Roads: Repairs and Maintenance
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport (1) what the cost when first submitted for Targeted Programme of Improvements approval was of each current Government-funded local authority and Highways Agency road scheme; what the latest cost estimates are for each; and what the percentage change is between the two; [237837]
(2) what the cost was when first submitted for Targeted Programme of Improvements approval of each completed Government-funded local authority and Highways Agency road scheme; and what the cost was at completion in each case. [237838]
Paul Clark: There were originally 113 schemes in the Highways Agency’s targeted programme of improvements (TPI). The TPI only included Government funded Highways Agency schemes.
59 have now been completed and are operational;
16 are currently in the construction phase;
15 are currently in the development phase;
16 are currently in the options phase (including one original TPI scheme that has now been split into two contracts); and
eight have either been remitted, withdrawn or transferred to another promoter.
Updated cost figures for TPI schemes in the development and construction phases were published in July 2008.
Tables showing the updated cost details (where available for release) for each TPI scheme that has either been completed or is in the construction, development and options phases of the Highways Agency’s Project Control Framework have been placed in the Library of the House.
Local authority schemes were not part of the TPI. Estimates for the local authority major schemes, costing over £5 million, were first published by the Department in June 2008. Any change in estimated cost has been made with reference to the cost estimate at programme entry (which is not the same as TPI entry).
Tables showing the updated cost details for each local authority major scheme have also been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 18 November 2008, Official Report, column 271W, on the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, if he will list the legislation for the purposes of which (a) the Department and (b) a departmental agency may be the employer in accordance with its delegated powers. [239718]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Crown is the employer of all those who work in Government Departments and agencies. However, pursuant to their delegated powers, individual Departments and agencies set the terms and conditions of employment for their staff.
Solicitor-General
Archives: Offences
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps have been taken following the police investigations conducted in 2006 on the insertion of faked documents into files at the National Archives; and if she will make a statement. [238405]
The Solicitor-General: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 12 December 2007, Official Report , column 573W.
Business: Fraud
Dan Rogerson: To ask the Solicitor General what assessment she has made of the implications of the OECD's recent report on corporate corruption for the work of the Serious Fraud Office on such cases. [231598]
The Solicitor-General: The report highlights some historic areas of concern to the Working Group on Bribery in International Business Transactions. The recently appointed Director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) attended the OECD's last meeting to give a report and answer questions.
As part of its overall transformation programme, the SFO is significantly increasing the resources it is deploying on counter-corruption work and has created a unit solely responsible for this area of work. This will be headed by a senior officer with considerable experience of counter-corruption work. He will work in partnership with key stakeholders and partners to ensure that the SFO builds on recent successful outcomes, including its first conviction for corruption offences, which was achieved in September this year.
Departmental Absenteeism
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Solicitor-General what the rate of staff (a) absence and (b) sickness absence was in (i) the Attorney-General’s Office and (ii) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1997-98; what the target rates set for the Office are in each case; and if she will make a statement. [239145]
The Solicitor-General: The Cabinet Office maintains central records on sick absence which are published annually on the civil service website. The figures following, taken from the Cabinet Guidance, show sick leave absences from 2003, there are no previous years published on the website. In 2003, the Attorney-General’s Office (or Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, as it was then known) reported separately which is why the total number of staff is 29. In subsequent years, Attorney-General’s Office figures are combined with the Treasury Solicitors Department and HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate.
| Number of staff—year | Average working days absence per staff—year | |
The NFSA was established as an Executive Agency of the Attorney-General’s Office on 1 October 2008, and so annual statistics on absence and sickness are not yet available.
Departmental Civil Servants
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Solicitor-General how many civil servants have been employed by each of the Attorney-General's Office's agencies and non-departmental public bodies in each year since 1997-98; and if she will make a statement. [239142]
The Solicitor-General: With a couple of exceptions, executive NDPBs are non-Crown bodies and employees are not civil servants, although civil servants can be seconded or loaned to NDPBs. Information on the number of employees in executive NDPBs is published in the annual Cabinet Office “Public Bodies” publication. Copies are available from the Libraries of the House.
Advisory NDPBs do not usually employ staff. They are typically supported by civil servants from the sponsoring Department.
Departmental Consultants
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Solicitor-General how much (a) the Attorney-General's Office and (b) each of its agencies and non-departmental public bodies spent on external consultancy in each year since 1997-98; and if she will make a statement. [239143]
The Solicitor-General: The Attorney-General's Office has incurred the following costs on external consultancy:
| Costs (£000) | |
| (1 )Accounting records are held back to 1998-99; the costs of providing this information prior to this would be disproportionate. | |
No expenditure has been incurred by the NFSA on external consultancy since its establishment as an Executive Agency of the Attorney-General's Office on 1 October 2008.
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