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20 May 2009 : Column 1472W—continued
Voter Registration
10. Chris Ruane: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what data the Office for National Statistics gathers on the level of voter registration. [276405]
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 20 May 2009:
As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your question asking what data the Office for National Statistics gathers on the level of voter registration. (276405)
The Office for National Statistics collects annual counts of the number of people who are registered to vote - in Parliamentary, European and Local Government Elections - from Electoral Registration Officers in each local authority in England and Wales.
In Scotland the counts of registered voters are collated by the General Register Office for Scotland (GROS). In Northern Ireland the counts are collected by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI).
The Office for National Statistics collates all these data to produce annual Electoral Statistics for the UK by Parliamentary Constituency and Local Authority.
ONS also produces annual estimates of the mid-year resident population of the UK. These figures can be compared to annual estimates of the mid-year resident population to provide an approximation to voter registration rates.
This is not a precise figure for voter registration rates because not everybody who is usually resident is entitled to vote and on the other hand some people may be registered in more than one area (e.g. some people with more than one address).
Charities: Government Assistance
Dan Norris: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what financial and other support his Department is giving to charities during the economic downturn. [276395]
Kevin Brennan: Up to £42.5 million was announced in “Real Help for Communities” in February; a £16.7 million Hardship fund was announced in the Budget, as well as a £1.2 billion jobs fund which the third sector will be able to access.
Civil Servants: Codes of Practice
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what changes have been made to the Civil Service Management Code provisions on (a) blogging and use of social media by civil servants, (b) guidance on access to papers of a previous administration and (c) civil servants publishing memoirs in the last six months. [271964]
Mr. Watson: The “Civil Service Management Code” has been revised to reflect updated rules for civil servants on the publication of memoirs, and to provide a link to guidance for civil servants' on their participation in social media and on-line activity. The guidance on access to papers of a previous administration has not been revised, but the “Code” text covering this issue has been shortened and now links to further guidance in the “Directory of Civil Service Guidance”.
A copy of the “Civil Service Management Code” can be found in the Library of the House and online at:
Civil Servants: Vacancies
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many and what proportion of (a) central government and (b) Civil Service vacancies were advertised via the public and private parts of the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway in the last year for which figures are available. [271965]
Mr. Watson: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 17 March 2009, Official Report, columns 1057-1058W. In the past 12 months, 47 per cent. of all Civil Service vacancies were advertised internally online and 53 per cent. were advertised externally online to the general public.
Civil Service: Recruitment
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what criteria the (a) Cabinet Office, (b) Government Communications Network and (c) the Central Office of Information uses to determine whether a job is advertised (i) publicly on the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway external site, (ii) the Civil Service Recruitment Gateway internal site and (iii) internally only. [269949]
Mr. Watson: Civil service recruitment follows the Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Principles.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance the Civil Service Commissioners have issued on the circumstances in which Civil Service vacancies are advertised to the general public. [269950]
Mr. Watson: It is for departments to determine the route for filling their vacancies.
Selection for appointment to the Civil Service is required to be on merit on the basis of fair and open competition. The Civil Service Commissioners' Recruitment Principles provide detail on how the Commissioners interpret this requirement, which must be followed by departments.
A copy of the Civil Service Commissioners Report can be found in the House of Commons Library or at:
Departmental Air Travel
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many (a) officials of each grade and (b) special advisers in 10 Downing Street have flown with British Airways on official business in each month since June 2007; what the (i) destination and (ii) cost of the ticket was in each case; what policy governs the use of British Airways by officials in 10 Downing Street; and if he will make a statement. [270554]
Kevin Brennan: For the purposes of this answer, the Prime Minister’s Office is part of the Cabinet Office.
The Cabinet Office does not hold a breakdown of the information required since June 2007.
Cabinet Office policy requires officials to use the most cost effective class of air travel appropriate to the business need which takes account of the level of work that needs to be done during the flight and the importance of minimising fatigue. Standard class should normally be used but where the circumstances are justified, including longer flights, officials may travel in a higher class. Seats may be up-graded to a higher class where this does not involve additional cost. All travel is undertaken in accordance with the requirements of the civil service management code and the ministerial code.
Departmental Freedom of Information
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 submitted to the Cabinet Office more than six months ago are being assessed for their public interest implications. [271961]
Mr. Watson: The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics, on a quarterly basis, which give details of the number of requests that have had their deadline extended to consider the balance of public interest. Copies of the statistics are available in the Library of the House and are on the Ministry of Justice's website:
Departmental Logos
Mr. Maude:
To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for North-East Hertfordshire of 31 October
2006, Official Report, column 323W, on departmental branding, what the Cabinet Office's policy is on the (a) re-use and (b) disposal of departmental-branded goods which become out of date following machinery of Government changes; and in what manner the sign of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office was disposed of. [270294]
Mr. Watson: The Cabinet Office logo is used as a corporate image and is included on the majority of material produced by the Department. Wherever possible the Department would make use of any branded material that was outdated, or recycle any items that could not be reused.
The Department for Communities and Local Government have confirmed that the sign of the Deputy Prime Minister's Office was given to my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston upon Hull, East (Mr. Prescott) when he left office. The used value of the sign was minimal.
Departmental Mobile Telephones
Mr. Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster pursuant to the answer of 23 February 2009, Official Report, columns 392-93W, on departmental mobile telephones, (1) whether any of the 14 damaged mobile telephones had been allocated to individuals who work in 10 Downing Street; [269953]
(2) what the cost to the public purse was of replacing the 14 damaged mobile telephones; [270170]
(3) what the (a) make and (b) model of each of the 14 damaged mobile telephones was. [270171]
Mr. Watson: None of the 14 phones that were damaged had been issued to individuals who work in Downing street.
Under the terms of the contract the Department has with Vodafone, damaged handsets are replaced free of charge on a ‘like for like’ replacement policy.
The make and models of the 14 damaged mobile phones mentioned in my answer of 23 February 2009, Official Report, columns 392-93W, to the right hon. Member are given in the table:
| Make | Model | Number |
Economic Situation: Disadvantaged People
Anne Moffat: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what assessment his Department has made of the effects on socially-excluded people of the recession. [276397]
Kevin Brennan: The Government are acutely aware of the importance of helping those who are socially excluded, which is why it is one of our top 30 priorities under PSA 16. In addition to “Real Help Now” measures, the Social Exclusion Task Force has started a project to identify further practical help to protect those on the cusp of a downward spiral into social exclusion and ensure that they come through the recession stronger.
Employment: Logistics
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) how many people in each region work in the logistics sector; [276153]
(2) how many people worked in the logistics sector in each region in each quarter of 2008. [276154]
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 Questions:
How many people in each region work in the logistics sector? (276153)
How many people worked in the logistics sector in each region in each quarter of 2008? (276154)
The attached table shows the number of employee jobs for transport, storage and communication activities (Section I of the Standard Industrial Classification 2003) in each UK Government Office Region (GOR) from 2007Q1 to 2008Q4, the most recent estimate available. The quarterly series are not seasonally adjusted and so estimates for 2007 have been included in order to produce series of annual change.
These estimates are produced from employer surveys and are subject to sampling variability. They exclude self-employed jobs and government supported trainees, which are not available by region by industry. Section level is the lowest industry level available by region for quarterly employee jobs. Section I has been deemed to best represent the ‘logistics sector’ and this includes land transport, water transport, storage, warehousing, post and telecommunications. A more detailed breakdown of employee jobs by industry by region is available from ONS's Annual Business Inquiry, although the most recent estimates are for 2007.
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