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12 Oct 2009 : Column 249W—continued
Departmental Flexible Working
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what flexi-time arrangements were available to staff of his Department in each of the last five years; and how many staff participated in such arrangements in each such year. [290602]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: HM Treasury promotes flexible working by offering a variety of working arrangements which includes compressed hours, part-time, job-sharing, working from home and flexi-time.
Flexible working hours are available to all staff within HM Treasury, but participation is dependent upon local agreements within individual teams. The operation of these agreements is supervised by individual line managers, and not recorded centrally. Information about the number of staff participating in such arrangements could therefore be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental ICT
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many (a) mobile telephones, (b) Blackberrys and (c) laptop computers have been issued to staff in his Department in each of the last five years; and how many of these were issued to (i) new staff and (ii) existing staff following (A) loss and (B) theft of a previous device. [290596]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In respect of the numbers of mobile telephones, Blackberry devices and laptop computers issued to Treasury staff prior to 2007, I refer the hon. Lady to the answer my predecessor gave to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 20 April 2009, Official Report, column 373W. The following table gives details of the numbers issued in the subsequent completed years.
| Number | |||
| Mobile telephones | Blackberrys | Laptop computers | |
The figures for 2008 reflect an increasing use of flexible and remote working tools within the Department as well as a laptop refresh and encryption project which took place during the year.
In respect of the replacement of missing or stolen items, I refer the hon. Lady to the answer my predecessor gave to the hon. Member for Brent, East (Sarah Teather) on 6 May 2008, Official Report, column 819W. For the numbers of lost or stolen laptop computers in the years requested, I refer the hon. Lady to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Reigate (Mr. Blunt) on 22 June 2009, Official Report, column 666W. For the numbers of lost of stolen Blackberry devices and mobile telephones, I refer the hon. Lady to the answer given by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury to the hon. Member for Fareham (Mr. Hoban) on 13 May 2009, Official Report, column 849W.
Departmental Manpower
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate has been made of the average length of employment of staff in the Department at each Civil Service payband. [290599]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry:
HM Treasury's staffing and recruitment practices make provision for permanent employees to manage their careers in an active manner, as well as opportunities for people across the labour market, from both the public and private sectors, to
work in the Department on short-term loans and secondments as part of their wider careers. The following table, which sets out the average number of years spent at each payband, is based on the median average number of years employed in the Treasury. It reflects the balance the Department strikes between developing staff, promotion on merit, and developing a balanced and flexible workforce with a variety of skills to meet the Department's objectives.
| HM Treasury pay range | Civil service payband | Average number of years( 1) |
| (1) Median average number of years employed at HM Treasury, as at September 2009. | ||
John Mann: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff there were in his Department (a) in 1997 and (b) on the latest date for which figures are available. [292072]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested is set out in the Treasury's annual reports for the years concerned. Those are in the Library and can be accessed via:
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008, Official Report, column 947W, on departmental marketing, what the cost of branding activity was for (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) HM Revenue and Customs in 2008-09. [290292]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In 2008-09, the following was spent on branding activity:
| £ | |
Departmental Paper
Lynne Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his Department's policy to print on both sides of the paper used for correspondence; and if he will estimate the potential for reduction in paper usage arising from the introduction of such a policy. [291879]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry:
The Treasury Group remains committed to sustainable development, contributing to the UK's Sustainable Development Action Plan and striving to reduce the impact of the Group's operations on the environment. Based on year-on-year falls in
emissions to 2007-08 and an assessment of having sound carbon management systems, the Treasury Group was awarded the Carbon Trust Standard for all of its UK operations. This includes all emissions from the estate, and from all transport used by officials and ministers. The Treasury Group is proud to have achieved this, and is committed to maintaining the standard.
Specifically on paper usage, in 2008, the Treasury adjusted the default setting of all printers to print on both sides, which has significantly reduced paper usage, although single side printing may sometimes be appropriate and this is an issue we shall continue to focus on.
Departmental Paternity Leave
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many staff took paternity leave from his Department in each of the last five years and what the average length of such leave was. [290601]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In each of the five years to 2008-09, staff working at HM Treasury have been entitled to take up to two weeks paid paternity leave on the birth or adoption of a child. Prior to the start of 2009-10, HM Treasury did not record instances of staff paternity leave centrally; the information requested could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Public Expenditure
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department spent on (a) car hire, (b) air travel, (c) hotels and (d) restaurant meals for (i) Ministers and (ii) staff in his Department in each of the last five years. [289975]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Details of spending on travel and subsistence since 2003-04 is shown in the Treasury's Annual Report and Accounts (HC 611). A breakdown of those figures into the categories requested could not be achieved within the disproportionate costs threshold.
All travel undertaken by Ministers and civil servants is in accordance with the "Ministerial Code" and the "Civil Service Management Code" respectively. All spending on official entertainment is made in accordance with the principles set out in "Managing Public Money."
The Government published a list of all overseas travel by Ministers costing over £500 on 16 July and this can be viewed at:
Departmental Recruitment
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what data his Department holds on the level of diversity in its recruitment of employees in each of the last three years. [290510]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Treasury publishes diversity data on recruitment on its website at:
The diversity data available covers the years 2006, 2007 and 2008-09. Further information on diversity and recruitment is available in the Treasury's equality schemes (Race, Disability and Gender) also available on the website.
Departmental Sick Leave
Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost to his Department of sickness absence was in each of the last five years. [290598]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The following table gives the cost to HM Treasury of sickness absence in total number of working days lost for years 2007-08, and 2008-09. Published figures for 2004, 2005 and 2006 can be found on the civil service website at:
| HM Treasury sickness absence 2007-08 and 2008-09 | ||
| Number | ||
| Average working days lost | Total days lost | |
HM Treasury systems do not record the financial costs of these sickness absence days, which could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, details of HM Treasury's staffing costs and numbers are published annually in its Departmental Reports and Accounts, copies of which are available in the Library of the House.
Departmental Training
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many days training were provided to staff in (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) HM Revenue and Customs on managing budgets in the last 12 months; how many staff attended each of the courses provided; and if he will place in the Library a copy of the training materials provided during such training. [289127]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Treasury Group, comprising HM Treasury, the Office of Government Commerce and the Debt Management Office, provide extensive formal training to staff working on managing internal budgets, one-to-one training on demand, and, in addition, staff are able to attend a range of informal training via their individual directorates. Details of the amount of training provided are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), including the Valuation Office Agency, provides a range of tailored training to managers on budget management in order to meet the Department's financial skills and capability strategy, as well as E-learning facilities and informal on-the-job training. As part of that effort, in the last year staff were provided with 839 days of training relating specifically to managing internal budgets.
Materials for these courses are subject to copyright and restrictions on publication that apply to protected internal management information.
John Mason: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many external training courses were attended by staff of his Department in the last 12 months; and what the cost was of each course. [289691]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Due to delegated team budgets for training, this information is not held centrally and would be available only at a disproportionate cost.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what training courses have been provided to staff at HM Revenue and Customs in the last 12 months; and at what cost. [289839]
Mr. Timms: The information on training courses provided in the last 12 months has been deposited in the Library of the House.
The information requested regarding the cost of training for the last 12 months could be available only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Waste
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what proportion of his Department's waste was recycled in the latest period for which figures are available. [289666]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: HM Treasury is committed to making operations as sustainable as possible. Detailed information containing latest figures is contained in HM Treasury Annual Report and Accounts 2008-09 (HC 611).
Departmental Work Experience
Mr. Amess: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what provision is made to enable students to undertake work experience in his Department; by what means members of the public may obtain information about work experience in his Department; and if he will make a statement. [288733]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Treasury offers summer work placements to students via programmes organised by the Government Economic Service which are advertised on the GES website (www.ges.gov.uk). It also participates in the Summer Placement Scheme and Summer Development Programme organised by the Cabinet Office; these opportunities are publicised by the Fast Stream marketing team and advertised on the Fast Stream website:
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