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7 May 2009 : Column 426W—continued
Departmental ICT
Nadine Dorries: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) how much the Cabinet Office has spent on the provision of information communications technology for 10 Downing Street in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement; [271090]
(2) how much the Cabinet Office has spent on information communications technology training for staff based in 10 Downing Street in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [271091]
Mr. Watson: The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is an integral part of the Cabinet Office, and the spending of the PMO on information communication technology (ICT) would be included in that of the Cabinet Office.
ICT spend and ICT training for the Cabinet Office can be separated into two distinct areas:
(1) Regular spending on ICT and ICT training for staff. This includes such activities as maintaining hardware and training new staff members in the use of the Cabinet Office systems. The overall spending on ICT during 2007-08 is contained in the ‘Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts 2007-2008’. The annual report is available at
and is in the Library. Providing information on regular ICT spend in earlier years can be done only at disproportionate cost.
(2) Project spending on ICT and ICT training for staff. ICT projects that will require trained staff will include the cost of that training within their budgets. For a list of major ICT projects since 2005 I refer the hon. Member for Mid-Bedfordshire to my response
given to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) on 3 March 2009, Official Report, column 1449W. The costs given include the cost of training where training was necessary. Information on the costs of training alone or on the costs of ICT work between 1997 and 2005 are available only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 3 March 2009, Official Report, column 1449W, on Government Departments: ICT, which major IT project initiated by his Department is behind schedule; and for what reason. [271946]
Mr. Watson: The project to upgrade the IT desktop system across the Department is behind schedule. The system is currently in its pilot stage which has been extended until functionality and performance have been proven.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether the Cabinet Office post of head of public engagement is a new post; whether the post will be part of the Government Communications Network; and what the job specification of the post is. [271960]
Mr. Watson: The Cabinet Office does not have a head of public engagement nor does it have plans to recruit one.
Departmental Pay
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether staff in 10 Downing Street are eligible for bonus payments. [272018]
Mr. Watson: The Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
An element of the Cabinet Office’s overall pay award is allocated to non-consolidated variable pay related to performance. These payments are used to drive high performance and form part of the pay award for members of staff who demonstrate exceptional performance, for example, by exceeding targets set or meeting challenging objectives.
Government Departments: Temporary Employment
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster which provisions of the Government’s compact with contractors and trade unions have been implemented. [272011]
Mr. Watson: Government have been implementing the joint statement on Access to Skills, Trade Unions and Advice in Government Contracting since its launch in July 2008. The implementation of the joint statement is subject to ongoing review by the Public Services Forum.
Ministers: Aviation
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what estimate he has made of the tonnage of carbon dioxide emissions from non-scheduled flights undertaken by (a) the Prime Minister and (b) other Ministers in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08. [273333]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested by the right hon. and learned Member cannot be separately identified by the Cabinet Office. To seek to identify the information requested would require a detailed analysis of the management information provided by the Department’s travel contractors. The Department estimates obtaining this information would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.
Non-profit Making Associations: Hertfordshire
Mike Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the recession on not-for-profit organisations in (a) Hemel Hempstead and (b) Hertfordshire. [272791]
Kevin Brennan: The Office of the Third Sector (OTS) is working with key partners to understand the impact of the economic downturn on third sector organisations. At present the available evidence is incomplete and somewhat inconsistent, indicating it is too soon since the start of the downturn to fully evaluate the impact on the sector at a national or constituency level.
The Government continue to take the difficulties many third sector organisations face during this recession very seriously, which is why the £42.5 million package announced in “Real help for Communities: Volunteers, Charities and Social Enterprises” provides targeted help for the sector to face these challenges. This package of support was designed together with third sector leaders and took into account submissions from over 80 charities. This action plan builds on the wide range of measures the Government have put in place to support people through the economic downturn, and on the Government’s long-term commitment to voluntary organisations and social enterprises.
The OTS will continue to monitor this situation closely and work with its partners to share evidence on this issue and will host a sector-wide summit on the economic downturn in June. In addition, the Third Sector Research Centre will also be factoring the impact of the downturn into its analysis of the sector.
Unemployment
Mr. Ancram: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many people aged between 16 and 24 years old have never been employed. [273314]
Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated May 2009:
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people aged between 16 and 24 years old have never been employed. (273314)
For the three month period October to December 2008, it is estimated that 2.2 million people aged 16 to 24 had never been in employment, apart from casual or holiday work.
The estimate is derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) using the latest data available (October-December 2008). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. In sampling error terms the above estimate is considered to be precise as the coefficient of variation (CV) lies between 0 and 5 per cent. The CV indicates the quality of the estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality.
The estimate has been derived from the LFS microdata which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. Consequently the estimate is not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistics First Release, which are weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.
International Development
British Indian Ocean Territory: Environment Protection
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of measures to protect the islands of the British Indian Ocean Territory from the effects of (a) pollution, (b) unsustainable fishing, (c) poaching and (d) habitat degradation; and if he will make a statement. [272040]
Gillian Merron: I have been asked to reply.
The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is recognised by many scientific authorities as a globally important environmental site where pollutant levels in the waters and marine life are exceptionally low. The BIOT Administration is committed to maintaining and preserving the unique BIOT environment and its environmental adviser pays an annual visit to the Territory to assess the environment and report back to the BIOT Commissioner.
With regards to fishing, BIOT is a member of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission which works for the conservation and sustainable development of tuna and tuna-like species in the region. Those wishing to fish in BIOT waters are subject to the fisheries (conservation and management) laws of the Territory. Laws are enforced by the Fisheries Protection Officer on board the BIOT patrol vessel, the Pacific Marlin, which regularly patrols BIOT waters.
CDC: Finance
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding his Department has allocated to CDC in order to meet the pledge made at the G20 summit to finance the new World Bank Global Trade Liquidity programme; and if he will make a statement. [270064]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) is not providing CDC with any financial resources for this purpose.
Conflict Prevention: Finance
Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 25 March 2009, Official Report, columns 17-19WS, on conflict resources 2009-10, what proportion of the new funding arrangements for conflict prevention is classed as Official Development Assistance (ODA); which programmes are eligible for ODA; and if he will make a statement. [272065]
Mr. Ivan Lewis:
The amount of Official Development Assistance (ODA) achievable through the Conflict Fund will be determined by the programmes (Africa, South
Asia, Middle East, wider Europe, etc.) and the activities they prioritise for funding. Work is still ongoing to finalise the portfolio of projects under each programme and therefore it is not possible at this stage to say how much will be classed as ODA. All five programmes that make up the Conflict Fund will undertake both ODA and non-ODA eligible projects.
Departmental Air Conditioning
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much has been spent by his Department on carrying out inspections of air conditioning systems within departmental buildings in accordance with the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 since the Regulations came into force. [272133]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has not yet incurred any expenditure on an inspection of air conditioning systems in accordance with these regulations. An inspection of the one DFID building affected has been commissioned but has not yet been completed.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many of his Department's buildings are equipped with air conditioning systems with output greater than 250kW; how many of these systems have been inspected under the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007 since the regulations came into force; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each inspection report. [272141]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has one building, our London Headquarters, with an air conditioning system with greater than 250kW of output. We have obtained a Display Energy Certificate for this building as required, but whilst a specific inspection of the air conditioning system has been commissioned, it has not yet been carried out. We will place a copy of the inspection report in the Library of the House as soon as it is available.
Developing Countries: Influenza
Mr. Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking to assist developing countries in relation to the global swine influenza outbreak; and if he will make a statement. [273349]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development (DFID) has provided £20 million to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA), the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Bank over the last three years to support influenza pandemic preparedness and response capacity.
As my hon. Friend, (Mr. Michael Foster), announced on 7 May 2009 we have set aside a further £6 million for WHO and UN OCHA in response to the recent outbreak of swine flu.
We have also instructed DFID's network of country offices to discuss the threat with WHO in-country and to consider how we might help to prevent or respond to any outbreak.
We are in close touch with inter-Departmental contingency planning and with WHO and UN OCHA.
Kenya: Administration of Justice
Mr. Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department provides to support the justice system in Kenya; and whether he plans to increase the level of such assistance to take account of the role of the Kenyan authorities in prosecuting piracy suspects. [272919]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not currently provide funding for the Kenyan justice sector, although the UK Government, led by the Ministry of Defence, has provided some bilateral training to Kenyan Government prosecutors in relation to piracy. We are, however, proposing support through the European Commission (EC), using Stability Instrument funds through a large UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) programme.
The proposed EC assistance would be targeted at the prosecution, police, judicial and prison services, particularly focusing on capacity and logistical shortfalls associated with the trials and detention of piracy suspects. An indicative amount of €1.74 million has been proposed, using the UNODC in Kenya as the implementing partner. We understand that this project is likely to be fully funded by the Commission, which the UK Government very much welcome as appropriate recognition for the efforts being made in Kenya.
Palestinians: Overseas Trade
Mr. McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made on trade and investment in the Palestinian territories since the Palestinian Trade and Investment Forum in December 2008; and if he will make a statement. [273115]
Mr. Douglas Alexander: Since the London Business Forum on Trade and Investment in Palestine, there have been a number of positive developments. Palestinian Fairtrade olive oil was launched in February this year and is now on sale in UK supermarkets. This will increase sales of Palestinian olive oil, upon which 100,000 Palestinian families depend for their livelihoods.
The Palestine Britain Business Council has also been established, with the purpose of promoting and facilitating bilateral trade and investment in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It will hold its next meeting in Ramallah later this month.
UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) is working closely with a range of private sector stakeholders on the follow-up to the London Business Forum and will be supporting both tourism and construction scoping missions to the West Bank over the summer. These will aim to map opportunities in the two sectors and bring them to the attention of British business.
Trade Unions
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2009, Official Report, column 694W, on trade unions, what office facilities his Department provides for the exclusive use of each recognised trade union; and what the notional monetary value of such provision was in 2008-09. [271926]
Mr. Ivan Lewis: An office in each our two main UK buildings is provided for the exclusive use of trades unions. The notional annual value of these rooms, in terms of rent and rates, is £6,600 for 2009-10.
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