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22 Jun 2009 : Column 564W—continued
Democracy Live
Jo Swinson: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what recent representations the House of Commons Commission has received on the forthcoming BBC Democracy Live service; and if the Commission will consider enabling the share facility for videos of proceedings in Parliament. [281606]
Nick Harvey: The Commission has not received any representations on the forthcoming BBC Democracy Live service. I understand that the Administration Committee will shortly be considering a proposal to permit the embedding of video content by end users.
Scotland
Cabinet: Glasgow
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) how many (a) special advisers and (b) officials of his Department accompanied him to Glasgow for the Cabinet meeting on 16 April 2009; [273945]
(2) what car journeys he took in attending the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009; [273946]
(3) how much expenditure was incurred by his Department in respect of the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009; [273947]
(4) what expenditure on (a) travel, (b) accommodation and (c) food (i) he and (ii) officials in his Department incurred in connection with the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow on 16 April 2009. [273948]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I was accompanied by one official and one special adviser and undertook one car journey when attending Cabinet in Glasgow on 16 April 2009.
For information in relation to the Cabinet and public engagement event held in Glasgow on 16 April I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 3 June 2009, Official Report, column 487W.
Demos
Mr. Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what (a) private meetings and (b) public engagements Ministers in his Department have attended at which representatives from the think-tank Demos were present in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [279492]
Ann McKechin: Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government’s practice to provide details of all such meetings.
Departmental Data Protection
Mr. Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many breaches of information security there have been in his Department in the last five years. [281094]
Ann McKechin: There have been no breaches of information security at the Scotland Office in the last five years.
The Office would report all significant personal data security breaches to the Cabinet Office and the ICO. Information on any personal data security breaches would be published on an annual basis in the Department’s annual resource accounts as was announced in the Data Handling Review published on 25 June 2008.
Additionally, all significant control weaknesses including other significant security breaches are included in the Statement of Internal Control which is published within the annual resource accounts.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he plans to answer Question (a) 273945, (b) 273946, (c) 273947 and (d) 273948 tabled on 5 May 2009 on the Cabinet meeting in Glasgow. [281413]
Mr. Jim Murphy: These parliamentary questions were answered today.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Bees
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will make it his policy to appoint an expert in beekeeping and honey bee health to the funding committee for the Living with Environmental Change programme. [281188]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 19 June 2009]: DEFRA and other funders are currently considering whether an independent expert should be invited to join the panel considering research proposals submitted to the Insect Pollinator Initiative being developed under the Living with Environmental Change programme.
Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control
Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the cost to the farming industry of the number of cattle slaughtered as a result of infection with bovine tuberculosis in (a) 2009, (b) 2008, (c) 2007 and (d) 2006. [280028]
Jim Fitzpatrick [holding answer 15 June 2009]: The cost impacts of bovine tuberculosis (TB) on farm businesses will vary, though we know that for some farmers these costs will be serious. We have made no specific estimates of the effects of the cost to the farming industry of cattle slaughtered as a result of infection with bovine TB.
The Bovine TB Eradication Group have recently discussed ideas to enable farmers affected by bovine TB to maintain their farm businesses, including enhancing trading opportunities for TB restricted herds and options for support for individual farmers.
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research: Manpower
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many (a) directors, (b) senior managers, (c) specialist and delivery managers and (d) executive support and administration staff there were in each Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research office in each of the last five years. [280317]
Dan Norris: The table provides the requested data. We have included total staff numbers to give an indication of the relative level of management effort, and CEFAS turnover figures to illustrate substantial growth in the volumes of work delivered by the agency over this period. Total staff numbers are average full year figures (as reported in the annual accounts; the detail breakdown reflects the position at financial year end).
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
| Notes: 1. Directors are executive members of the CEFAS management board. 2. Senior managers lead operational management across the organisation, and form part of the CEFAS “Senior Management Team”. 3. Specialist and delivery managers: have an extensive proportion of their time focused on managing/delivering customer projects and are typically professionally qualified. This is an estimated figure based on staff grade. 4. Executive support and administration: provide the “corporate services” function for CEFAS. | |||||
Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research: Pay
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was paid in bonuses to (a) directors, (b) senior managers, (c) specialist and delivery managers and (d) executive support and administration staff in the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research in each of the last five years. [280321]
Dan Norris: The table provides the requested data. Figures for 2008-09 have not yet been finalised.
The CEFAS “performance related pay” (PRP) scheme has varied in recent years. It comprises a “corporate bonus” payable to all eligible staff as well as an “individual PRP” for a smaller proportion. The table shows percentage corporate and values of individual PRP estimated. The current scheme allows for:
A corporate bonus for all eligible staff of 2.2 per cent. of salary, explicitly linked to achievement of agreed agency targets
A corporate “growth” bonus for all eligible staff of up to 1.3 per cent. of salary self-funded and explicitly linked to generation of additional income from sources other than DEFRA.
An “individual PRP” paid at two levels, 4 per cent. or 8 per cent., for approximately 25 and 15 per cent. of staff respectively. This is assessed on the basis of achievement of personal objectives together with consideration of how these were delivered, the latter taking account of CEFAS values.
Bonus arrangements for four senior civil servants in CEFAS, including the chief executive, form part of wider DEFRA arrangements.
| 2004-05 | 2005-06 | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | |
Common Agricultural Policy
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the cost to the public purse of the Common Agricultural Policy integrated administration and control system was in each of the last five years. [278673]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS) under the Common Agricultural Policy provides the system for managing direct payments to farmers (such as the Single Payment Scheme), and those rural development measures which are based on the area farmed or number of animals held by the farmer (such as agri-environment payments and Less Favoured Area payments). The Rural Payments Agency (RPA), Natural England and the Forestry Commission all administer IACS-related schemes in England.
It is not possible to provide the specific costs to these bodies of administering IACS-only schemes in the time available without incurring disproportionate costs, as they do not separately collect such figures.
The table sets out indicative costs to these organisations as follows:
(a) RPA: total running costs for administering around 60 CAP schemes and for Trader schemes payments to traders throughout the UK as well as all its non-CAP functions such as livestock tracing.
(b) Forestry Commission: administration of their ‘land-based’ IACS grant schemes, the English Woodland Grant Scheme together with the legacy Woodland Grant Scheme and Farm Woodland (Premium) Schemes.
(c) Natural England: administration of their RDPE schemes, including agri-environment schemes which are subject to IACS controls.
| £ million | |||
| Financial year | RPA( 1) | Forestry Commission( 2) | Natural England( 3) |
| (1) Taken from the Agency’s Annual Report and Accounts. (2) Net administration costs (3) Natural England was formed in October 2006. Costs for its predecessor bodies are not available. (4) Includes direct costs incurred by Natural England of £13.6 million, and costs of using DEFRA systems (including depreciation and support/running costs). (5) Not yet available. | |||
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