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6 July 2009 : Column 510W—continued
Olympics
Mass Media: Olympic Games 2012
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how much the Olympic Delivery Authority spent on media monitoring services in each of the last three years; and which organisations provided such services. [280014]
Tessa Jowell: Over the past three years, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has spent the following on media monitoring services:
| Supplier | Cost (£) | |
This increase is due to the fact that, in the earlier stages of the project, more of the monitoring costs were borne by the privately funded London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and also a reflection of the increasing national and international coverage of the games in both print and broadcast media.
Costs for electronic monitoring of newspapers and magazines are covered by LOCOG.
Olympic Games 2012: East of England
Mr. Vara: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what discussions her Office has had with the Local Government Association on the East of England’s (a) participation in and (b) legacy from the London 2012 Olympics. [277778]
Tessa Jowell: There has been regular discussion with the East of England at a local level, with local authorities and through public consultation events since 2007 by my officials, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, and the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).
I also visited Norwich in November 2008 and spent some time meeting and discussing with councillors and members of the local authority about the plans for 2012 and how they can ensure that they maximise the opportunities they present.
The East of England will be hosting the mountain biking competition at Hadleigh Farm in Essex and the white-water canoe slalom will be staged in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire. The region will also benefit from the legacy of the games in the form of a world-class community and elite use white-water canoe centre at Broxbourne.
I was delighted to award Essex county council a Beacon Award in March this year recognising the effectiveness of the council for its work on Olympic and Paralympic legacy. The Beacon scheme is a prestigious award scheme that recognises excellence in local government.
In 2007, the Nations and Regions Group (NRG) was set up by LOCOG and the Government Olympic Executive to build on the excitement and interest the games has inspired across the UK. The Local Government Association (LGA) has been present on the group since its inception and is represented by Councillor Chris White, who is also Chair of the LGA’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board. At the LGA conference in December 2008, I set out progress so far and the Government’s plans for the future alongside Charles Allen, the Chair of the NRG.
Local government was instrumental in the success of the 2008 Open Weekend when some 655 events across the country engaged some 700,000 people in London
2012 community, sporting and cultural events. The LGA and local authorities throughout the UK again have the opportunity to use the London 2012 Open Weekend held from the 24 to the 26 July to inspire people to get involved with a range of culture, sport, sustainability and learning activities to celebrate the UK hosting the games in 2012.
Scotland
Departmental Cleaning Services
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which organisations provided cleaning services to his Department in each of the last three years; and what the cost of each such contract was in each such year. [280758]
Ann McKechin: Cleaning services for the Scotland Office is undertaken by various companies. The following table details the various companies and expenditure. Waste collection is also included in the information as some contracts cover both cleaning services and waste collection.
| £ | |||
| Company | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
Departmental Energy
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much (a) electricity and (b) gas was used on his Department's estate in each year from 2004-05 to 2008-09. [280526]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office did not centrally record its electricity and gas usage for the years 2004 to 2009. Information about utility usage has however been recorded since the beginning of this financial year.
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much was spent on energy efficiency measures for his Department's estate in each year from 2004 to 2009; what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of that expenditure; and what plans he has for future energy efficiency measures. [280537]
Ann McKechin: Exact figures for energy efficiency measures are not available in the requested format. All works carried out where possible include measures designed to improve energy efficiency but those measures are not costed separately.
Energy efficiency in the Scotland Office's London branch is measured by the Display Energy Certificate that the building is required to have under the Energy Performance of Buildings (Certificates and Inspections) (England and Wales) Regulations 2007. A copy of the certificate and the associated advisory report have been placed in the Library of the House.
Plans for future energy efficiency measures across the Government estate are described in the Sustainable Procurement and Operations on the Government Estate Delivery Plan Update (December 2008).
Departmental Information Officers
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost to his Department of (a) press officers and (b) other press office staff has been in each year since 1997. [283067]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. The cost to the Department of press office staff is as follows:
| £ | |
| (1) Part year. (2 )Running under complement. | |
The press office provides support to Scotland Office Ministers and officials, as well as the Office of the Advocate General. It has also been involved in providing logistical support to the Commission on Scottish Devolution and the Boundary Commission for Scotland. It operates a 24-hour on-call service for Ministers and has the responsibility for maintaining the Scotland Office website and media planning across the office.
Public Consultation
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what mechanism his Department has in place to monitor the content of comments submitted by members of the public to his ministerial blog. [284201]
Ann McKechin: The blogging software integrated into the Scotland Office website automatically stores comments for moderation before they are published live, in line with good web practice.
Northern Ireland
Departmental Pay
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many senior civil servants in his Department are paid an annual salary of more than £64,766. [284329]
Paul Goggins: 28 members of the senior civil service working within the Northern Ireland Office received a salary in excess of £64,766 in the financial year 2008-09.
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many senior civil servants in his Department who received an annual salary of more than £63,291 in financial year 2008-09 were paid a bonus; and how much bonus was paid in each case. [284330]
Paul Goggins: 26 members of the senior civil service working in the Northern Ireland Office and receiving a salary in excess of £63,291 in the financial year 2008-09 were awarded non-consolidated performance payments in line with the Government's response to the independent Senior Salaries Review Body. These payments ranged between £4,000 and £18,000.
Police: Museum
Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress has been made in the establishment of a police museum in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months. [284331]
Paul Goggins: An outline business case for a new police museum was submitted to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) in April 2009, following work done by the RUC George Cross Foundation with support and advice from the NIO. Before any decision can be taken, consideration needs to be given to the case in the context of the current financial environment, the project's relationship with other work on the past, and the range of funding options.
Culture, Media and Sport
EU Laws
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of the statutory obligations upon it provided for in legislation introduced as a consequence of obligations arising from EU legislation in the most recent 12 months for which figures are available. [283481]
Barbara Follett: No estimate has been made of the cost to the Department of the statutory obligations upon it provided for in legislation on matters for which it is responsible which were introduced as a consequence of obligations arising from EU legislation in the most recent 12 months.
World Heritage Sites
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will make it his policy to continue to accept applications from additional cultural sites for inclusion in the UK's tentative list of future nominations for World Heritage status. [283419]
Barbara Follett: My Department is currently reviewing its World Heritage Policy. As part of this we have held a public consultation and are analysing the results. A decision on whether to revise the current UK tentative list of possible nominations for World Heritage inscription will be made in the autumn based upon this analysis.
If we do decide to prepare a new tentative list then all interested sites will be considered for inclusion on it and appropriate guidelines on the process will be made available.
Work and Pensions
Access to Work Initiative
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much on average the Access to Work initiative has paid to employers per registered person to date. [280630]
Jonathan Shaw:
Access to Work is a specialist disability programme delivered by Jobcentre Plus, which provides practical advice and support to disabled individuals either in paid employment or with a job or work trial to start. It helps to overcome work related obstacles resulting from their disability through a system of grants towards the cost of providing support. The programme reimburses
costs incurred either by the individual or by any third party on their behalf. The programme does not therefore directly fund employers. In 2008-09 the Access to Work programme spent £81,223,332(1).
(1 )This figure is an indicative one for the 2008-09 operating year and is subject to sign off of the DWP Resource Accounts by the National Audit Office.
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