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12 Oct 2009 : Column 100W—continued
Departmental Internet
Mr. Watson:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 13 July 2009, Official Report, column 84W, on departmental internet, what the (a)
names and (b) versions are of the web browsers used on the (i) desktop machines and (ii) laptop computers used by his Department's (A) Permanent Secretary, (B) chief information officer, (C) head of communications and (D) head of finance. [288998]
Mr. Wills: All the named post holders have Internet Explorer version 7 on their desktop or laptop computers.
Departmental Location
Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what timescale he has set for completion of his Department's proposed accommodation relocation and rationalisation project; which potential locations have been shortlisted; whether he proposes to build the proposed office accommodation under a private finance initiative scheme; and if he will make a statement. [289475]
Mr. Straw: The Ministry of Justice is developing a feasibility study and business case for potentially establishing a national justice centre hub for HQ functions that do not need to be based in central London.
The long-term objective is to reduce the high cost London presence and to focus London based activity to business critical requirements of supporting Ministers and conducting core strategic policymaking.
This is part of a five year estates plan and excludes prisons, courts, tribunals and other operational services which are included in separate operational estate strategies.
A thorough process is being undertaken and a set of criteria is currently being established with the close involvement of both the Office of Government Commerce and the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The criteria are wide ranging covering not only value for money considerations but also the socioeconomic impacts, local and regional partnerships, labour market and career opportunities, transport links and sustainability, health and social factors as well as others.
A list of potential locations has not yet been established and no decisions have been made about the scale, staffing or financial arrangements of any potential future locations.
Departmental Manpower
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the average length of employment of staff in his Department at each civil service pay band. [290248]
Mr. Wills: The average length of service for each responsibility level within MoJ, including the public sector Prison Service and National Offender Management Service Headquarters (NOMS) is shown in the following table.
The current MoJ (excluding NOMS) pay band structure was introduced on 1 August 2007, as part of the pay deal. This resulted in the amalgamation of Grades 6 and 7. As a result of this change, it is not possible to report separately on these grades.
| Ministry of Justice length of service as at 31 July 2009 | |
| Responsibility level | Average length of service (years) |
| Source: Oracle HR systems (NOMS + MoJ HQ) | |
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hours were worked by each special adviser in his Department in each week between 8 June 2009 to 3 July 2009. [289903]
Mr. Straw: As working for me as a Special Adviser is, I am told, pure pleasure and stress free, my Special Advisers work exceptionally long hours, often at weekends and late into the evening without complaint, and have not therefore felt the need which they otherwise might to complete timesheets to show that I was sweating their labour.
Departmental Non-departmental Public Bodies
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for what non-departmental public bodies his Department is responsible; and what the budget of each was in each of the last three years. [289904]
Mr. Straw: The Ministry of Justice (MOJ)'s Resource Accounts 2008-09 stated that for the year ended 31 March 2009, the MOJ was responsible for nine executive non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs). Due to Machinery of Government changes, the MOJ has not been responsible for all of these nine NDPBs during the last three years. Advisory NDPBs have not been included in this answer as the data are not readily available centrally. Please see the link below for further information about MOJ sponsored bodies, correct as of March 2009 at:
The following table shows the cash grant paid to each executive NDPB by MOJ for 2009-10 and the two previous years(1):
Departmental Non-domestic Rates
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many properties owned by his Department were liable for payment of (a) business rates and (b) empty property rates in each of the last five years; and what the total rates liability was in each year. [290253]
Mr. Straw: There are four properties owned by the Ministry of Justice that were liable for business rates in each of the last five years. None of these properties qualified for empty property rates.
The total rates bill for these properties over the last five years is as follows:
| (£) | ||||
| Gwydyr House, 65 Whitehall, SWIA 2NP | Abell House, John Islip Street, London SWIP 4LH | Cleland House, Page St, London, SWIP 4LN | Ashley House, Monck St, London, SWIP 2BQ | |
Figures from the estate of Her Majesty's Court Service and the National Offender Management Service are not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Paternity Leave
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff took paternity leave from his Department in each of the last five years; and what the average duration of such leave was. [290251]
Mr. Wills: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) allows new fathers to take up to 10 working days paternity leave providing they meet the qualifying criteria including continuous employment for at least 26 weeks.
Information from 2006-07 to present is shown in the following table but it should be noted the data are recorded using calendar days and cannot be converted to working days. Earlier figures were not held centrally.
| Annual paternity statistics for Ministry of Justice (excluding National Offender Management Service (NOMS)) | ||
| Number of staff | Average number of days (calendar) | |
The information requested for the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is not held centrally and to obtain it would entail manually examining large numbers of individual files at a disproportionate cost.
Departmental Postal Services
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department spent on Royal Mail services in each of the last five years. [288792]
Mr. Straw: As the Ministry of Justice was created on 9 May 2007 information is available only for the last two financial years:
| £ | ||
| 2008-09 | 2007-08 | |
| (1) In 2007-08, expenditure by certain parts of the Department-the Office of Criminal Justice Reform in Ministry of Justice headquarters, and headquarters functions within the current NOMS agency-were recorded on the Home Office's accounting system, reflecting the way functions were organised prior to 9 May 2007. Details of this expenditure could be obtained only from Home Office systems at disproportionate cost. The 2007-08 NOMS figure reflects expenditure by the former HM Prison Service agency only. | ||
In addition to this factor, the increase in expenditure reflects increases in postal charges from April 2008 and a greater use of tracked services including recorded post and courier services, reflecting an increased concern for data security when posting information.
All expenditure with the Royal Mail is in line with the principles set out in HM Treasury's manual "Managing Public Money", and the Treasury handbook on "Propriety and Regularity".
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