| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
6 May 2009 : Column 186W—continued
| End of year performance awards paid to staff below the level of the SCS | ||||
| Financial year | 2008-09 | 2007-08 | 2006-07 | 2005-06 |
| (1) Median performance bonus was £775. Bonuses are paid in August for contribution in the previous financial year. | ||||
| Special bonuses | ||||
| Financial year | 2008-09 | 2007-08 | 2006-07 | 2005-06 |
| Summary of bonuses paid | ||||
| Financial year | 2008-09 | 2007-08 | 2006-07 | 2005-06 |
Gurkhas
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many troops are serving in Gurkha regiments. [273077]
Mr. Kevan Jones: As at 1 March 2009, the Brigade of Gurkhas comprised of some 130 Officers and 3,760 other ranks.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Land: Sales
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the monetary value of (a) grade A and (b) grade B agricultural land from the national land stock sold off in each year since 1997. [270441]
Jane Kennedy: The following table shows the number, area and average price of agricultural land sales for Grade 1 and 2 land between 1997 and 2004. Figures are not available separately for these grades of land and may not reflect full sales for 2001-04 because it is not possible to update the information fully without disproportionate cost. Data are not available after 2004.
| Agricultural land sales in England | ||||||
| 1 and 2 | All grades | |||||
| Number of sales | Area s old (Ha) | Average price (£ per Ha) | Number of sales | Area s old (Ha) | Average price (£ per Ha) | |
| Note: Grade 1 land is that with very minor or no physical limitations to agricultural use. Yields are consistently high on these soils and cropping highly flexible since most crops can be grown including the more exacting horticultural crops. Grade 2 land has some minor limitations which exclude it from Grade 1. A wide range of agricultural and horticultural crops can usually be grown though there may be restrictions in the range of horticultural crops and arable root crops on some types in this grade. Source: DEFRA analysis of data supplied by the Valuation Office Agency. More details are available at: https://statistics.defra.gov.uk/esq/statnot/alp.xls | ||||||
Wild Boars: Forest of Dean
Mr. Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to control the wild boar population in the Forest of Dean. [272879]
Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA is not attempting to control feral wild boar in the Forest of Dean.
DEFRA's policy is that primary responsibility for feral wild boar management lies with local communities and individual landowners. However, Government are committed to facilitating this regional management through the provision of advice and guidance. The Deer Initiative is responsible for the provision of this advice (in addition to its responsibilities concerning wild deer).
Electoral Commission Committee
Electoral Register
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission what steps the Electoral Commission plans to take to increase levels of electoral registration. [272733]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Commission informs me that it is currently running a public information campaign to encourage people to register to vote before the June 2009 European parliamentary elections and local elections in England. It also delivers targeted campaigns directed at under-registered groups such as recent home movers, students, service personnel and British citizens living abroad.
Following its first assessment of the performance of Electoral Registration Officers, the Commission also plans to discuss with a number of officers how they intend to improve performance at the 2009 annual
canvass. In addition, the Commission plans to continue its programme of research into the accuracy and completeness of electoral registers.
Electoral Register: Standards
Chris Ruane: To ask the hon. Member for Gosport, representing the Speaker’s Committee on the Electoral Commission whether the Electoral Commission plans to publish a list of local authority electoral registration departments that are not performing to national standards, with reference to the Commission’s recent report Performance standards for electoral registration officers in Great Britain. [272734]
Sir Peter Viggers: The Electoral Commission informs me that comprehensive detailed information about the 2008 assessment of performance by each ERO in Great Britain against the performance standards has been published on its website. The Commission also informs me that a copy of the data from which its assessment was derived has been placed in the House of Commons Library.
House of Commons Commission
14 Tothill Street
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 9 March 2009, Official Report, column 26W, on 14 Tothill Street, if he will place in the Library a copy of the memorandum of understanding between the House of Commons and House of Lords. [271161]
Nick Harvey: The terms of the memorandum are still under discussion. When it is agreed it will be placed in the Library.
House of Commons: Political Levy
Mr. Maude: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what rules govern the holding of events funded from the trade union political levy on the Parliamentary estate. [272071]
Nick Harvey: There are no specific rules governing the holding of events funded from the trade union political levy on the parliamentary estate; but the general rule is that facilities provided by the House for accredited trade union representatives are not available for party political activity or political campaigning, whether or not it has been funded from the political levy. Similarly, as a general principle, office space and facilities for Members are provided to help carry out parliamentary duties effectively and not for unrelated party purposes. The rules governing the purposes for which Members may use committee, conference, meeting and interview rooms are provided on the parliamentary intranet.
Parliament: Internet
Mr. Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission for what reasons the Parliamentary intranet was not available on 26 April; what steps the Commission (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to reduce the number of occasions when the intranet is not available; and if he will make a statement. [272170]
Nick Harvey: There were no reported problems with the availability of the intranet service on 26 April 2009.
The parliamentary technology infrastructure is being replaced over a three-year period. The replacement improves resilience in order to reduce the number of breakdowns in services. The replacement programme is one third completed and some services, such as the intranet service, are already more resilient than they were in April 2008.
Mr. Amess: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission on which occasions the Parliamentary intranet has not been available since January 2008; what the reasons were for non-availability in each case; and if he will make a statement. [272171]
Nick Harvey: The parliamentary intranet has been unavailable due to unplanned events on the following occasions since January 2008:
24 January 2008: 45 minutes due to a domain name service (DNS) failure;
29 February 2008: 1 hour and 30 minutes due to a proxy server service failure.
The parliamentary intranet was also unavailable due to planned maintenance on the following occasion:
21 March 2009: 9 hours due to emergency security patch requirements.
This answer deals only with the intranet service but access to that service can be denied if there is a failure on the parliamentary network or one of the remote access services that Members use when away from the estate.
Scotland
High-Speed Rail
8. Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Transport on a high-speed rail link between London and Scotland. [271868]
Ann McKechin: My right hon. Friend and I have discussions with colleagues on a wide range of issues.
Electricity Generators
9. Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received on the costs of generators of electricity in Scotland; and if he will make a statement. [271869]
Ann McKechin: My right hon. Friend receives regular representations from industry on generation and transmission matters in Scotland.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |