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12 Nov 2009 : Column 831W—continued
Youth Volunteer Programme: Finance
Chris Ruane:
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the funding
for the youth volunteer programme has been spent in each year since its introduction. [299653]
Mr. Michael Foster: The Department of International Development has spent the following amounts since the introduction of our youth volunteer programme, Platform2, in January 2008:
| £ | |
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 12 November 2009
Justice
Christmas
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have spent on Christmas (i) cards, (ii) parties and (iii) decorations in the last 12 months. [299265]
Mr. Straw: The information requested is as follows.
The Ministry of Justice spent £1,695 on official Christmas cards in 2008. 3,800 printed cards were sent to the Department's stakeholders, and 400 more cards were sent out electronically. The official card was used by Ministers, MOJ headquarters and the Office for the Public Guardian.
The order for cards for 2009 has not yet commenced.
Other executive agencies made their own arrangements for Christmas cards, HM Courts Service and Tribunals Service did not produce official cards. Expenditure on Christmas cards by the National Offender Management Service is at local discretion. No central records of expenditure are held and details could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
I hosted one Christmas function in 2008. This was an event attended by approximately 50 members of the national media. The total cost of the function was £1,199.90 (excluding VAT). This expenditure included the provision of finger foods and beverages, and the cost of staffing and equipment.
I did not attend any Christmas functions arranged by the Ministry or its agencies other than the one I hosted above.
For officials at the Department and its agencies
The Department and its agencies do not fund Christmas parties for staff, although staff may personally contribute towards the cost of such an event.
The cost of Christmas trees for MOJ headquarters was £970 inclusive of VAT. The decorations from 2007 were re-used for 2008.
The information for agencies can be gathered only at a disproportionate cost. All four MOJ agencies (National Offender Management Service; HM Courts Service; Tribunals Service and Office of the Public Guardian) have regionalised structures. Each individual building orders their own trees and decorations.
Coroners: Armed forces
Mr. Ingram: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the arrangements agreed between his Department and the Scottish Executive on the use of fatal accident inquiries into the deaths abroad of service personnel are to be applied retrospectively; and on what date such arrangements will take effect. [298624]
Bridget Prentice: The Coroners and Justice Act, which received Royal Assent today provides for the possibility of a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) in Scotland into the deaths of service personnel who die abroad on active service or in training or preparation for it.
The arrangements will take effect once the Scottish Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has made the necessary preparations for Fatal Accident Inquiries to be held into overseas deaths of service personnel. The UK Government will work with the COPFS to bring the new provisions into effect as soon as possible. Transitional provisions will be made to ensure that the arrangements can be in place ahead of the complete reform of the coroners' system, by April 2012, on which they are otherwise dependent.
It is possible that the provisions could be applied to deaths that have occurred before the provisions are implemented to meet the wishes of a bereaved family. I will write to my right hon. Friend on progress in this area and place a copy in the Library.
Departmental Air Travel
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many domestic flights within Great Britain officials from his Department made in 2008-09; and at what cost. [298253]
Mr. Straw: The Ministry has a contract with a travel management company for the booking of flights at the most economical rates available. The expenditure incurred by the Ministry on domestic flights within Great Britain via this travel management company in 2008-09 was £478,091. This consisted of 2,262 transactions, with a return flight counting as one transaction.
Exceptionally, some flights may have been purchased outside of the contract using the Government Procurement Card (GPC) or paid for by members of staff and reclaimed through expense claims. To determine the number and cost of domestic flights outside of the travel management contract would involve the disproportionate cost of scrutinising individual records held locally across the Department.
All travel bookings by Ministry of Justice staff members is completed in line with the published rules for official travel and subsistence within the staff handbook. The rules are in accordance with the guidelines set out in the 'Civil Service Management Code'. The Ministry's policy is that air travel should only be used where there is a cost advantage from savings of subsistence and official time, or if urgency justifies the additional cost.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many first-class flights were taken by each Minister in his Department in 2008-09; and what the (a) origin, (b) destination and (c) cost was of each such flight. [298749]
Mr. Straw: For the 2008-09 financial year, there was only one first-class flight taken from Mumbai to London, costing £2,040.50. This flight was taken by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, East (Bridget Prentice), who had to travel first class on the return leg of the journey owing to illness. All travel by Ministers is undertaken in accordance with the 'Ministerial Code'.
Departmental Billing
Mr. Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what percentage of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in (a) September and (b) October 2009. [299549]
Mr. Wills:
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is committed to achieving compliance with the Prime Minister's target of paying 90 per cent. of suppliers within 10 days where possible, and is a signatory to the prompt payment code. The MOJ's percentage of supplier invoices paid
within 10 days for September and October 2009 exceeded the 90 per cent. target (September 2009 was 91.7 per cent., October 2009 was 92.2 per cent.). The value of invoices paid within the target for September and October totalled around £881 million.
Departmental Information and Communications Technology
Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what IT systems have been in development for use within his Department in the last five years; what the primary reason for the development of each system was; how much has been spent on the development of each system; and which systems have subsequently been (a) implemented, (b) terminated prior to implementation and (c) terminated following implementation. [290247]
Mr. Straw: Details of the IT systems developed since the Ministry of Justice was established in May 2007, together with reasons for the development, implementation date and cost, are listed as follows.
| Project name | Implementation date | Reason for development | Total cost |
This table includes IT developments costing more than £500,000.
In addition, details follow of the National Offender Management Service's NOMIS programme.
Responsibility for IT systems prior to May 2007 rested in three Departments and it has not been possible to gather information for the earlier years without incurring disproportionate cost. However, available records identify two IT projects, which commenced in the former Department for Constitutional Affairs, which were subsequently terminated. Details are as follows:
(1) In November 2008, following a review by Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) Board, the Electronic Filing and Document Management programme, which included plans for future investment in ICT, was cancelled. The review concluded that the Electronic Filing and Document Management programme was not affordable. The costs incurred by the programme from commencement of the programme in August 2005 to its closure in November 2008 were £5.9 million.
(2) The National Enforcement Tracker System (NETS) project was cancelled in August 2007 following a detailed review which highlighted that the cost and scope of the project no longer provided value for money or met current business requirements. Expenditure to closure of the project was £4.3 million. This sum was reported in accordance with HMT accounting rules.
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