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10 Nov 2009 : Column 182W—continued
Church Commissioners: Meetings
Mr. Gibb: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners if he will place in the Library a copy of (a) the agendas and (b) the minutes of each meeting of the (i) Church Commissioners and (ii) Church Commissioners' Assets Committee in the last 12 months. [298476]
Sir Stuart Bell: No. These papers are confidential to the Church Commissioners.
Church of England: Finance
Mr. Gibb: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2009, Official Report, column 996W, on Church of England: finance, for what reason whole-Church figures are not available for years after 2006; and when he expects these figures to be available. [298456]
Sir Stuart Bell: Collating financial information for the whole Church requires data from parishes, cathedrals, dioceses and the national Church institutions. Analysing regular annual data from thousands of legally independent entities is carried out through and in liaison with Church of England dioceses who use it for their own purposes.
This exercise consequently takes significant time but we endeavour to complete it within about 18 months of the annual parochial meetings that receive this information. I would hope that the whole-Church figures for 2007 would be available by the end of this year and the equivalent figures for 2008 by the end of next.
Church of England: Investment
Mr. Gibb: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what the policy on planning, development and the environment is of the Ethical Investment Advisory Group of the Church of England. [298431]
Sir Stuart Bell: The Ethical Investment Advisory Group has not formulated a policy specifically on planning and development, but its advice that the Church's national investing bodies should have regard to sustainable environmental practice in the investments they make applies to all asset classes including land and property.
Written Answers: Government Responses
Mr. Gibb: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners with reference to the answer of 17 November 2008, Official Report, column 5W, how many questions for written answer by the hon. Member representing the Church Commissioners (a) were tabled in 2008 and (b) have been tabled in 2009 to date; and how many such questions were (i) answered substantively and (ii) not answered on grounds of disproportionate cost. [298430]
Sir Stuart Bell: As I said in my answer of 17 November 2008, Official Report, column 5W, the Church Commissioners' record of questions does not distinguish between those for written and oral answer. However, I believe the total number of questions tabled in 2008 and in 2009 to date to be as follows:
2008-54 questions
2009 (to date)-98 questions
As far as I am aware, during this period I have only been unable to answer one question on grounds of disproportionate cost. This was the question from the hon. Member for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton on 20 April 2009, Official Report, column 40W. All other questions during this period have received substantive answers.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Policing Board
Mrs. Iris Robinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how much the (a) Northern Ireland Policing Board and (b) district policing partnerships cost to run in the latest year for which figures are available; [298178]
(2) how many people attended public meetings of (a) the Northern Ireland Policing Board and (b) district policing partnerships in the latest period for which figures are available. [298179]
Paul Goggins: These are operational matters for the Northern Ireland Policing Board, which is independent of Government. The hon. Member may wish to write to the Chief Executive of the Policing Board.
Offensive Weapons
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his latest estimate is of the level of knife crime in Northern Ireland. [298893]
Paul Goggins: Provisional police statistics report 226 relevant violent or sexual offences involving knives or sharp instruments in the first quarter of 2009-10 and the same in the second quarter.
The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) is working closely with the criminal justice agencies in an effort to reduce the carrying of knives. This includes a series of schools events across Northern Ireland in mid-November, highlighting through drama the message that "knives ruin lives".
Parades Commission for Northern Ireland
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many staff there are in the office of the Parades Commission for Northern Ireland; what information his Department holds on the religious background of its staff; and how much the office spent on (a) administration and (b) current public relations in the latest period for which figures are available. [297413]
Paul Goggins: The Parades Commission is supported by a Secretariat made up of 11 staff comprising Northern Ireland Office (NIO) home civil servants and seconded Northern Ireland civil servants. In order to comply with their obligations under the Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998, the NIO holds details of the community background of the HCS staff while the Northern Ireland civil service holds similar details of the NICS staff.
The cost of the Secretariat was £364,664 and the Commission spent £61,404.14 on public relations and media in 2007-08.
Police
Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the content was of (a) correspondence sent by and (b) other communications made by him to the First and Deputy First Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive since 1 October 2009 on issues related to policing and justice in Northern Ireland; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each such communication. [297604]
Mr. Woodward: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 9 November 2009, Official Report, column 12W.
Culture, Media and Sport
Big Lottery Fund: Internet
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many page hits the Big Lottery Fund website has recorded in each year since its creation. [299213]
Mr. Simon: The information provided in the table has been supplied by the Big Lottery Fund. It provides figures for the number of hits recorded for the Big Lottery Fund website in each financial year since the inception of the Big Lottery Fund on 1 June 2004.
| Financial year | Hits |
Cultural Heritage: Internet
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many page hits have been recorded by the (a) English Heritage, (b) Heritage Lottery Fund and (c) National Heritage Memorial Fund website in each year since their creation. [298845]
Mr. Simon [holding answer 9 November 2009]: English Heritage advises that the figures in respect of (a) are as follows:
| Months/years | Page views |
| (1) These are figures for incomplete years | |
The Heritage Lottery Fun advises that the figures in respect of (b) and (c) are as follows:
| Months/years | Page views |
| (1) Heritage Lottery Fund only (2,3) Heritage Lottery Fund and National Heritage Memorial Fund combined | |
Departmental Air Travel
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many domestic flights within Great Britain officials from the Department made in 2008-09; and at what cost such flights were taken. [298237]
Margaret Hodge [holding answer 9 November 2009]: During 2008-09 the Department for Culture, Media and Sport made a total of 65 domestic flight bookings at a cost of £12,077.00.
Departmental Data Protection
Mrs. Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department's information assurance procedures have been subject to an independent audit. [299371]
Mr. Simon: My Department carries out an independent external audit of its information assurance procedures at least annually.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many page hits have been recorded by his Department's website in each year since its creation. [298849]
Mr. Simon [holding answer 9 November 2009]: We can provide statistics since 2003. The figures for total page hits 2003-2009 are as follows:
| Figures | |
| (1)( )Incomplete, no figures for February. (2) January-August | |
Departmental Postal Services
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport with which providers (a) his Department and (b) its agency had a contract to provide postal services in (i) 2007, (ii) 2008, (iii) between 1 January 2009 and 1 July 2009 and (iv) since 1 July 2009. [299430]
Mr. Simon: The information requested is as follows:
(a) Since 2007 The Department has had a contract with Pitney Bowes Management Services for the provision of postal services.
(b) The Royal Parks do not have a contract for the provision of postal services.
Departmental Rail Travel
Mr. Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 15 October 2009, Official Report, column 1033W, on departmental rail travel, how many (a) journeys were paid for and (b) people travelled in each year; whether any nugatory expenditure was incurred in each year; and if he will make a statement. [298174]
Mr. Simon: The following information details the (a) number of journeys paid for and (b) number of people that travelled:
2008-09: (a) 470; (b) 227
2007-08: (a) 319; (b) 181
2006-07: (a) 744; (b) 303
The Department does not hold any information about official's nugatory expenditure connected with travel.
Digital Switchover Help Scheme
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport when he plans to provide money from the Digital Switchover Helpscheme Fund to pay for other services; and how much he expects to provide initially. [298930]
Mr. Simon: The Digital Switchover Help Scheme has mailed more than 2.1 million eligible persons and completed over 180,000 installations and deliveries. It does look highly likely that there will be an under spend in the help scheme, though the switchover process has only just begun in earnest and the final outturn will depend on take up rates which could differ around the country and over time.
The Government are discussing arrangements for the redeployment of under spend with the BBC Trust.
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