Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 14 October 2009
Scotland
Outreach Service
9. Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the House of Commons authorities on the production of the Outreach Service's publication entitled People and Parliament: connecting with communities. [292286]
Ann McKechin: I am aware of the project that the hon. Member refers to and welcome its aim to spread awareness of the work and relevance of Parliament. I am very happy to support this project and to encourage greater engagement between the public and this Parliament.
Power Stations
10. Ms Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with Scottish Executive Ministers on the siting of new coal-fired power stations in Scotland. [292287]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I have had no discussions with Scottish Government Ministers about the siting of new coal-fired power stations in Scotland.
Identity Cards
11. Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on the (a) cost to the public purse of and (b) implementation of the national identity card scheme in Scotland. [292288]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I have had no discussions with the First Minister on national identity cards.
Tourism
12. Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received on the effects of UK Government policies on tourism in Scotland. [292289]
Ann McKechin: My right hon. Friend has received no recent representations on this issue.
Manufacturing Sector
13. Mr. Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent representations he has received on UK Government support for the Scottish manufacturing sector. [292290]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I have had discussions with a range of stakeholders about support for the Scottish manufacturing sector.
Most recently, in September, I attended the Scottish engineering executive committee dinner in Glasgow and the Scotland Office, jointly with the David Hume institute, hosted a seminar bringing together key leaders in Government, industry and the university sector to discuss the opportunities and challenges for the high-tech engineering sector in Scotland.
Defence Establishments
14. Lindsay Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with ministerial colleagues on the future of defence establishments in Scotland. [292291]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues on defence establishments given the many jobs they support in Scotland.
Glasgow Airport Rail Link
15. Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with Scottish Executive Ministers on the decision not to proceed with the Glasgow airport rail link. [292292]
Ann McKechin: I have had no such discussions with Scottish Ministers.
Departmental Postal Services
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on Royal Mail services in each of the last two years. [288745]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office spend using Royal Mail was £7,199 in 2007-08 and £13,476 in 2008-09. The Office was not required to top-up its franking machine in London during 2007-08, which significantly reduced the overall costs.
The Scotland Office also incurred Royal Mail costs of £6,718,002 in relation to the posting of candidates' free mailing and the delivery of poll cards for the Scottish Parliament election in 2007-08. In 2008-09 the Scotland office incurred Royal Mail postage costs for two Westminster by-elections totalling £147,475.
Departmental Training
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland 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. [289606]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office encourages all staff to undertake learning and development activities. The majority of opportunities are provided through the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Justice; but where the training need is still not available within central Government, external training courses may be considered.
The Office does not maintain a central record of all training courses attended by staff. However, during the current financial year, the Office has incurred £12,164.94 in direct expenditure.
Departmental Travel
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on (a) car hire, (b) train travel, (c) air travel, (d) hotels and (e) restaurant meals for (i) Ministers and (ii) staff in his Department in each of the last five years. [289971]
Ann McKechin: The tables show the Scotland Office spend on car hire, rail and air travel. The Office does not separately record the spend on hotels and restaurant meals.
| Ministers | |||
| £ | |||
| Car hire( 1) | Rail | Air | |
| (1) This does not include the Government Car Service London costs for which I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement issued on 16 July 2009, Official Report, column 79WS. | |||
| Staff | |||
| £ | |||
| Car hire | Rail | Air | |
Holiday Accommodation: Taxation
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with Treasury Ministers on the effect of the abolition of furnished holiday lettings tax relief on tourism, rural areas and regional economies in Scotland. [293432]
Ann McKechin: My right hon. Friend has regular discussions with Treasury colleagues on a range of matters affecting Scotland.
Government will publish an impact assessment at pre-Budget report 2009 alongside draft legislation.
Scotland
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether his Department plans to make a submission to the Scottish Executive's National Conversation consultation on Scotland's constitutional future. [288951]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office has not submitted evidence to the Scottish Government's National Conversation.
The Commission on Scottish Devolution was established by majority vote in the Scottish Parliament and with the full support of the UK Government. UK Departments submitted evidence to the Commission during its first phase of evidence gathering.
The Commission recently published its final report, which can be found here:
A steering group has been established under the chairmanship of the Secretary of State for Scotland to help the UK Government and the Scottish Parliament plan how to take forward the Calman recommendations and deliver stronger devolution within a stronger United Kingdom.
Cabinet Office
2009 Edition of "Public Bodies"
Greg Clark: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when she expects to publish the 2009 edition of "Public Bodies". [289842]
Tessa Jowell: We expect to publish "Public Bodies 2009" early in the new year. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of the House and made available online.
Civil Servants
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what information the Cabinet Office holds on the average turnover rate amongst civil servants in each (a) Government department and (b) executive agency. [290037]
Angela E. Smith: The Department does not hold data centrally on civil service average turnover rates among civil servants in each (a) Government Department and (b) Executive Agency.
Information on the number of leavers in the year to 31 March 2008 and the number of permanent staff as at 31 March 2008 by (a) Government Departments and (b) Executive Agency is collected by ONS as part of the Annual Civil Service Employment Survey. A copy has been placed in the Library and is available at the following ONS webpage:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/StatBase/Product.asp?vlnk=2899&;Pos=&ColRank=1&Rank=422
Civil Service: Pensions
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office with reference to paragraph C. 76, page 242 of Budget 2009, if she will place in the Library a copy of the actuarial advice she received on the civil service pension scheme; and if she will make a statement. [289102]
Tessa Jowell: The projections underlying forecast expenditure for the civil service scheme reflect the actuarial assumptions set at the time of the last scheme valuation. A copy of the actuary's report of December 2007 is in the Library.
Glasgow
John Mason: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether she plans to visit Glasgow on official business during the summer adjournment. [288937]
Tessa Jowell: I have not visited Glasgow on official business during the summer adjournment.
Government Communication Network
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) what the budget for (a) the Government Communication Network and (b) the Government Communication Group is for (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10, (iii) 2010-11 and (iv) 2011-12; [242218]
(2) what the cost to the public purse of (a) the Government Communication Network and (b) the Government Communication Group was in each year for which figures are available. [242220]
Tessa Jowell: The budget for Government Communication Group for 2008-09 was £2.1 million, and is £2.1 million for 2009-10. The Cabinet Office has not yet finalised unit budgets for future financial years beyond this spending review period.
The group's remit includes improving professional capability of government communication, cross-departmental co-ordination and the customer service standard. The Government Communications Network is the mainly online community to share best practice and learning to communication staff across government. Its administrative support is provided through the Government Communication Group and its costs are not separately identified but included in the total figure.
Expenditure for the Government Communication Group was as follows:
| Expenditure (£) | |
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