Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 21 January 2009
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
Mr. Hayes: To ask the Prime Minister what items in the Donated Asset Reserve 10 Downing Street holds; and what use it is making of (a) jewellery, (b) watches and (c) other items in the holding. [249181]
The Prime Minister: The Government have published an annual list of gifts received by Ministers in an official capacity valued at more than £140 since 2001. Copies of the lists are available in the Libraries of the House. The list makes clear which gifts are held by Government Departments. The arrangements for the handling of gifts are set out in chapter 7 of the Ministerial Code.
Church of England
Mr. Drew: To ask the Prime Minister what recent representations he has received from Church of England bishops on Government economic and social policy. [249640]
The Prime Minister: I have regular discussions with a wide range of organisations and individuals, including the clergy.
Domestic Visits: Costs
Mr. Hands: To ask the Prime Minister (1) what the cost to the public purse of the hotel accommodation for (a) the Prime Minister and (b) his special advisers was during visits around the UK between 7 and 9 January 2009; [247931]
(2) what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the three day tour he undertook between 7 and 9 January 2009. [247940]
The Prime Minister: The information requested is not yet available. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the Ministerial Code and the Civil Service Management Code.
Mr. Hands: To ask the Prime Minister whether entry fees were charged for events held during his UK tour between 7 and 9 January 2009. [248047]
The Prime Minister: No entry fees were charged for any official events.
Ministers
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make it his policy to conduct exit interviews with Ministers leaving Government; and if he will conduct an exit interview with Lord Jones of Birmingham to discuss the noble Lord's experiences as a Minister. [249500]
The Prime Minister: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 23 July 2007, Official Report, column 721W.
Specialist Schools and Academies Trust
Mrs. May: To ask the Prime Minister if he will make publicly available a full transcript of his speech to the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust on 24 June 2008. [248512]
The Prime Minister: A transcript of my speech is available on the No. 10 website:
House of Commons Commission
Members: Offices
Mr. Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many (a) hon. Members and (b) staff of hon. Members have an office in (i) 1 Parliament Street, (ii) Norman Shaw North, (iii) Norman Shaw South, (iv) the Palace of Westminster, (v) 7 Millbank and (vi) Portcullis House. [248140]Nick Harvey: Full information on accommodation allocations on the House of Commons estate was given in the Third Report of the Select Committee on Administration Session 2005-06 HC1279 in June 2006. Updated information is as follows:
Parliament Street: 59 Members
Norman Shaw North: 103 Members
Norman Shaw South: 45 Members
Palace of Westminster: 238 Members
Portcullis House: 208 Members
Staff of hon. Members are not allocated rooms. Some have desks in rooms allocated to their employing Member, some have desks in suited rooms adjoining those of their employing Member and some have desks in shared accommodation occupied by the staff of more than one Member. The number of Members' staff fluctuates constantly and it is therefore difficult to give an exact figure for the number accommodated on the parliamentary estate. The figures for the number of desks occupied by Members' staff stated in the Administration Committee's report are as follows:
1 Parliament Street: 125
Norman Shaw North: 267
Norman Shaw South: 145
Palace of Westminster: 288
Portcullis House: 405
Hon. Members and their staff are not accommodated in 7 Millbank.
Energy and Climate Change
Departmental Pay
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will make it his policy to ensure that those temporary and permanent employees at the same grade in his Department who are paid at an hourly rate are paid at the same rate. [244394]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), which was formed on 3 October 2008, will consist of posts transferred from the existing Departments for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The detail is still being worked on, but staff will come to DECC from Energy Group in BERR and Climate Change Group in DEFRA. All DECC staff, including those in the corporate centre, are currently on either the BERR or DEFRA terms and conditions. Given that, I refer the hon. Member to the answers given by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, my hon. Friend the Member for Ogmore (Huw Irranca-Davies) on 13 January 2009, Official Report, column reference 594W and by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Employment Relations and Postal Affairs, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform on 14 January 2009, Official Report, column 757W.
Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Essex
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people were required to make contributions towards the cost of work carried out under the Warm Front scheme in Essex in each of the last five years; and what the average contribution was. [243816]
Joan Ruddock: The information requested is available from the beginning of the current phase of Warm Front, which commenced in 2005. The figures shown as follows are from 1 June 2005 until end of October 2008.
| Number of customers in Essex who made an additional contribution | Average customer contribution (£) | |
Nuclear Power: Consultants
Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change which external consultants have been engaged by (a) the Nuclear Installations Inspectorate and (b) the Nuclear Directorate in connection with the generic design assessment. [242506]
Jonathan Shaw: I have been asked to reply.
The Nuclear Installations Inspectorate of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has engaged the following main group of external consultants in connection with the Generic Design Assessment (GDA) work:
IAEA
Washington E&C Ltd.
EPRI
Health Protection Agency
Morson International
Imperial College London
OECD-NEA
AMEC
Atkins Nuclear
A number of individuals have been engaged to form the Project Review Board, namely Mr. David Hughes, Professor John Raine, Mr. Bernard Whittle and Mr. Phillip Woodward. Additionally Mr. James Furness has been engaged as Project Assurance Officer.
It is the intention of the HSE's NII to employ other Technical Support Contractors throughout the GDA process to aid in the provision of supplementary data and information on the reactor designs. HSE are currently undertaking an open procurement process in line with EU guidance/regulations to identify and appoint such contractors.
Warm Front Scheme
Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many contractors have left the Warm Front scheme in each of the last six months. [243463]
Joan Ruddock: No contractors have left the scheme in any of the last six months.
Transport
Aviation: Security
Mrs. Villiers: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what information his Department holds for benchmarking purposes on restrictions imposed by other countries on passengers carrying liquids on aeroplanes. [248505]
Jim Fitzpatrick: Liquid restrictions are in place at all EC airports as required under EC aviation security regulations. In late 2006 the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) issued a recommendation to each of its 190 contracting states that restrictions on the hand carriage of liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGs) through security search points should be imposed. Most major states have applied such restrictions, including the US, Canada, Australia, Japan and Singapore.
Bus Services: Concessions
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many appeals bus operators have made in respect of the rate of reimbursement for concessionary fares since April 2008; how many of these appeals (a) have been successful, (b) have been rejected and (c) are still outstanding; and what estimate he has made of the average cost to his Department of (i) processing and (ii) resolving an appeal of this type. [249539]
Paul Clark: There were 100 appeals by bus operators about reimbursement arrangements in 2008-09, of which five were not valid and 52 were later withdrawn. Of the 43 appeals remaining, by 19 January, 11 appeals have been determined by independent adjudicators appointed on behalf of the Secretary of State for Transport. Of these appeals, five were upheld and six were dismissed. A further 32 appeals remain to be determined. It is intended to issue the majority of those determinations by the end of January.
The average cost of processing and resolving an appeal takes account of four officials working full-time for about half of the year on casework, the fees of consultants and the two independent adjudicators. The cost per appeal determined is estimated to be approximately £6,000.
Commuters: Hemel Hempstead
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what incentives are offered to people travelling to work in Hemel Hempstead to reduce the environmental impact of that travel. [249472]
Paul Clark: The policies and objectives in Hertfordshire county council’s Local Transport Plan aim to encourage the use of alternatives to the car in order to protect the environment. Implementation is carried out through a variety of methods, including the improvement of public transport, the development of new cycling routes and working with local employers to encourage their staff to travel more sustainably. The Hemel Hempstead Urban Transport Plan includes a number of proposed measures including the development of travel plans for Hemel Hempstead railway station and the hospital, proactively encouraging the development of car clubs and establishing a project to provide individual households with travel planning advice.
Cycling: Safety
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to ensure the protection of pedestrians from cyclists. [249825]
Jim Fitzpatrick: We advise all road users, including cyclists and pedestrians, of the need to be aware of others and be considerate of their needs. The main source of this advice is the Highway Code, which sets out road traffic law and advice for safe road users. It includes specific sections for cyclists and for pedestrians. The rules for cyclists make clear that they must not cycle on the pavement as this is an offence. It also provides advice on taking care of pedestrians in those areas where cyclists and pedestrians share space, such as unsegregated cycle tracks. In addition the Department for Transport provides local authorities with guidance on the planning and design of facilities used by pedestrians and cyclists including shared use.
Departmental Languages
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many (a) Ministers and (b) civil servants in his Department received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months; what expenditure his Department incurred in providing such coaching; and in what languages such coaching was provided. [248073]
Mr. Hoon: The central Department and its agencies recorded no instances where Ministers have received coaching in a foreign language in the last 12 months.
The following table provides a break down of civil servants within the Department and its agencies who have received coaching in a foreign language.
| Delegates attended | Language(s) | Cost (£) | |
| DFT (C) | Not available | French, Mandarin, Spanish, Italian and German | £6.50 -£8.00 per hour |
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