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4 Mar 2009 : Column 1623W—continued
Royal Bank of Scotland: Sponsorship
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what role the directors of the Royal Bank of Scotland who are appointed by UK Financial Investments Ltd. have had in determining the bank’s budget for sport sponsorship in 2009. [260461]
Ian Pearson: UK Financial Investments (UKFI) is the body set up to manage the Treasury’s shareholding in recapitalised banks.
As part of the recapitalisation scheme, UKFI has the right to agree with RBS management the appointment of new independent non-executive directors.
The directors will serve on the RBS board, and as part of this, share with other directors responsibility for major strategic and operating decisions—including decisions on sponsorship spending.
UK Financial Investments
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many shares in (a) Lloyds TSB, (b) HBOS and (c) the Royal Bank of Scotland were taken up by UK Financial Investments; and at what price. [249912]
Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Angela Eagle) gave the hon. Member for Wellingborough (Mr. Bone) on 12 February 2009, Official Report, columns 2142-43W.
UK Financial Investments: Manpower
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how many people employed by UK Financial Investments Ltd. are former employees of his Department; [260375]
(2) how many people are employed by UK Financial Investments Ltd. [260456]
Ian Pearson: UK Financial Investments Ltd. is not part of the civil service, but a small number of civil servants (around five) are expected to be seconded into it. Total staffing is currently expected to be around 15.
Solicitor-General
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Vara: To ask the Solicitor-General what percentage of contractors and suppliers to (a) her Department and (b) its agencies has reported compliance with the Government's security standards following publication of the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government, and the accompanying document, Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action, on 25 June 2008. [245311]
The Solicitor-General: The Attorney-General’s Office shares services with the Crown Prosecution Service, the Serious Fraud Office and the Treasury Solicitor's Department. All contractors and suppliers are compliant with the data handling report.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Solicitor-General how many contracts (a) her Department and (b) its agencies have which allow contractors to store personal data of UK citizens overseas; for which contracts this applies; in which countries the data for each contract are held; and how many people have their data stored overseas in the case of each such contract. [245337]
The Solicitor-General: There are no such contracts in place.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Solicitor-General when her Department appointed a senior information risk owner in accordance with the report, Data Handling Procedures in Government and the accompanying document Cross-departmental Actions: Mandatory Minimum Action; when the appointment was made; and what grade the person holds within the Department. [245353]
The Solicitor-General: This appointment was made in June 2008 and they are a senior civil servant.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Solicitor-General what percentage of the IT systems in (a) her Department and (b) its agencies are fully accredited to the Government's security standards. [245379]
The Solicitor-General: 100 per cent. of the IT systems are fully accredited to the Government's security standards.
Departmental Written Questions
Mr. Vara: To ask the Solicitor-General on how many occasions in the last 12 months Ministers in the Law Officers' Departments have used their discretion to rule that a parliamentary question for written answer should be answered because it would be in the public interest to do so, even though to do so would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold of £700. [249136]
Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office
David Taylor: To ask the Solicitor-General what proportion of the (a) drug smuggling, (b) tax fraud, (c) tobacco and alcohol duty evasion, (d) illegal arms trafficking, (e) money laundering and (f) sanctions violation cases prosecuted by the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office since April 2005 resulted in convictions. [260270]
The Solicitor-General: The tables set out the information available. Data for 2005-06 are not accessible in a format compatible with the data set out as follows.
| 2008-09( 1) | ||||||
| Cases | Defendants | |||||
| Prosecutions | Convictions | Conviction r ate (percentage) | Prosecutions | Convictions | Conviction r ate (percentage) | |
| (1) 2008-09 covers the period April 2008 to January 2009. (2) Excise cases include prosecutions for other excise and duty frauds i.e. hydrocarbon oils. (3) Arms cases include prosecutions for the importations of firearms, ammunition and offensive weapons. | ||||||
| 2007-08 | ||||||
| Cases | Defendants | |||||
| Prosecutions | Convictions | Conviction rate (percentage) | Prosecutions | Convictions | Conviction r ate (percentage) | |
| 2006-07 | ||||||
| Cases | Defendants | |||||
| Prosecutions | Convictions | Conviction r ate (percentage) | Prosecutions | Convictions | Conviction rate (percentage) | |
Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office: Parking Offences
Mr. Maude: To ask the Solicitor-General how much the HM Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office paid in (a) parking and (b) congestion charge fines in the last year for which figures are available. [258368]
The Solicitor-General: The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (RCPO) was established as an independent prosecuting authority in April 2005, and is superintended by the Attorney-General. It is a separate Government Department from HM Revenue and Customs.
During the calendar year 2008, RCPO paid £60 in parking fines.
No payments were made in respect of congestion charge fines.
Northern Ireland
Public Inquiries: Costs
7. Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse to date of all public inquiries taking place in Northern Ireland. [259272]
Mr. Woodward: The Bloody Sunday inquiry is expected to cost a total of £190 million, including costs incurred by the Ministry of Defence. The Hamill, Wright and Nelson Inquiries are expected to cost a combined total of £117 million. The total cost to the end of January 2009 of all four public inquiries is £267 million, of which 70 per cent. of those costs relate to the Bloody Sunday Inquiry.
11. James Duddridge: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of payments made to legal firms used by public inquiries taking place in Northern Ireland for which his Department is responsible has been to date. [259276]
Mr. Woodward: £127 million has been paid to all legal representatives for work in relation to the ongoing public inquiries. Almost £100 million of this relates to the Bloody Sunday inquiry, including costs incurred by the Ministry of Defence.
Lessons were learned from the experience of the Bloody Sunday inquiry. For the Hamill, Wright and Nelson inquiries, caps on lawyers’ hourly fees and the number of hours they could claim were imposed at the outset.
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