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23 Feb 2009 : Column 103W—continued

Departmental Internet

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will publish a copy of her Department’s website accessibility plan. [257236]

Mr. Khan: The Department publishes its commitments on the accessibility of its websites at:

This has been updated in line with recent Cabinet Office guidelines on accessible and inclusive websites.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Mr. Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many expert advisers, excluding special advisers, have been commissioned by her Department since June 2007; and on which topics they have advised. [254742]

Mr. Khan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 239W.

Departmental Overseas Visits

Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the Answer to the hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar of 21 April 2008, Official Report, column 1392W, on departmental overseas visits, how many of the overseas visits were made in order to attend foreign conferences; and what conferences were attended. [252792]

Mr. Khan: Records on overseas visits held in Communities and Local Government (CLG) do not identify separately the number of overseas visits made to attend foreign conferences or information on what conferences were attended. This information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

All ministerial travel and travel by CLG staff is undertaken in accordance with the “Civil Service Management Code” and the “Ministerial Code”.

Departmental Pay

Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department has allocated for staff bonuses in 2008-09. [252251]


23 Feb 2009 : Column 104W

Mr. Khan: There are three ways in which staff in this Department might be entitled to a non-consolidated award in the financial year 2008-09.

The Government have accepted a recommendation by the Senior Salaries Review Body that for senior civil servants over the period 2008-11 there should be an indicative envelope, of 7 per cent. of paybill per head, available for normal base pay increases and increasing the non-consolidated performance pot. Under these arrangements, the Department has made non-consolidated payments in 2008-09 to 111 staff at a total cost of £856,392.

The pay settlement for staff below the senior civil service for 2008-09 has yet to be determined and so we cannot provide information in relation to the cost of non-consolidated payments at this time.

All non-consolidated payments above are funded within existing pay bill controls, have to be re-earned each year against pre-determined targets and, as such, do not add to future pay bill costs.

In Communities and Local Government, non-consolidated payments are made to those members of staff who are found to have made a significant contribution towards the achievement of the teams, and/or Department’s objectives. Individuals are expected to show that they have exceeded the requirements set for the achievement of the objective and have demonstrated exemplary behaviour in doing so.

Our senior civil service staff members are also assessed against a range of factors, such as:

The Department also operates a scheme for all staff below the senior civil service under which individuals or teams may receive a small non-consolidated award in recognition of an outstanding contribution over a limited period. A formal allocation of funding is not made for this scheme but a limit of 0.2 per cent. of the paybill is placed on expenditure under these arrangements. The maximum payment under these arrangements is £600 but records are not available to show the number of payments made under this scheme in 2008-09.

Departmental Standards

Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost to her Department of conducting comprehensive performance assessments has been each year since the assessments were introduced. [255592]

John Healey: The cost of the Audit Commission’s work on comprehensive performance assessment (CPA) was covered by income from fees paid by local authorities, along with grant to the Audit Commission from the Department. The cost to local authorities of Audit Commission fees was offset by the revenue support grant paid to them by the Department.


23 Feb 2009 : Column 105W

I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member directly with an estimate of the costs of conducting CPA since its introduction in 2002.

Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 23 February 2009:

Funding for CPA of local authorities
£ million

CLG grant Inspection fees Total

2002-03

21.7

18.7

40.4

2003-04

21.7

15.5

37.2

2004-05

20.0

14.7

34.7

2005-06

18.4

8.0

26.4

2006-07

17.8

10.8

28.6

2007-08

18.2

11.7

29.9


23 Feb 2009 : Column 106W

Funding for CPA of fire and rescue authorities

CLG grant (£ million)

2003-04

0.4

2004-05

2.8

2005-06

1.4

2006-07

1.5

2007-08

1.9


Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people have been employed to work on comprehensive performance assessments in each year since the assessments were introduced. [255593]

John Healey: This is an operational matter for the Audit Commission and I have asked the chief executive of the Audit Commission to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Steve Bundred, dated 23 February 2009:

Comprehensive Performance Assessments—local authorities
Inspection year Single tier and county councils District Councils Total FTE staff

Inspections Days Inspections Days Inspections Days

2002/03

424

20,371

217

8,803

641

29,174

172

2003/04

417

10,746

264

21,622

681

32,368

190

2004/05

351

9,669

427

10,615

778

20,284

119

2005/06

222

7,103

358

6,539

580

13,642

80

2006/07

225

9,430

335

6,575

560

16,005

94

2007/08

242

10,147

333

7,417

575

17,564

103

2008/09

199

5,717

305

4,341

504

10,058

59


Comprehensive Performance Assessments—fire and rescue authorities
Inspection year Fire and rescue authorities FTE staff

Inspections Days

2004/05

31

2,170

13

2005/06

16

1,120

7

2006/07

47

564

3

2007/08

46

552

3

2008/09

54

1,296

8


Departmental Translation Services

Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many language translators are employed in each of her Department's executive agencies; and what the cost of translating services provided by such people was in the latest period for which information is available. [257155]

Mr. Khan: The Fire Service College engaged three part-time translators to work with staff delivering courses to Saudi Arabian students (during various periods between 5 January 2009 and 27 March 2009). Full costs have been recovered from the sales revenue.

The Planning Inspectorate procures translation services, and spend was £59,215 in 2007-08.

As a trading fund, the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre would buy in and recharge if translation services were requested by its clients.


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