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1 Dec 2009 : Column 596W—continued
Northern Ireland
Children: Abuse
Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions his Department has had with (a) the Northern Ireland Executive and (b) authorities in the Republic of Ireland on the implications for matters within his Department's responsibility of the report of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse in the Republic of Ireland. [302484]
Mr. Woodward: To date neither I nor my officials have held discussions with either the NI Executive or the Irish Government on this subject. On 12 November the Minister for Health, Social Service and Public Safety copied me a letter that he had received from a solicitor in Northern Ireland concerning this matter.
Departmental Assets
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assets of his Department are planned to be sold in each year from 2009-10 to 2013-14; what the (a) description and (b) book value of each such asset is; what the expected revenue from each such sale is; and if he will make a statement. [300206]
Mr. Woodward: The assets of the Northern Ireland Office (NIO), including its arms length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, that have either been sold or are planned to be sold in 2009-10 and 2010-11 are shown in the following table.
| £ | |||
| Description | Net book value at 31 March 2009 | Actual/expected revenue | |
| (1) Sold (2) For Sale £177,300 | |||
Determining which assets will be sold in 2011-12 to 2013-14 will form part of the planning process for the next spending review.
Departmental Cost Effectiveness
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what efficiency savings projects (a) his Department and (b) its agencies put in place under the Operational Efficiency Programme; on what date each such project was initiated; how much each such project was expected to contribute to departmental savings; how much had been saved through each such project on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [300930]
Paul Goggins: There is no separate OEP target in this SR period beyond the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) savings of £125 million as part of our contribution to the CSR07 target of £35 billion, which is reported on in the Autumn Performance Report.
In response to the Operational Efficiency Programme, the Department's Business Performance Review Team (BPRT) commenced a scoping study to consider the delivery of the Department's back office functions in September 2009. The study will include IT, Finance, Human Resources, Travel Services, Estates Management, Procurement, Legal Services, Information Services and current assets, including accommodation. The assessment will take into account current and future business, organisational, and customer requirements.
The study may provide options for a series of future detailed operational reviews that will examine performance and make recommendations for measurable improvements in service delivery to include the simplification, standardisation, and rationalisation of functions to drive efficiency. Identified savings will contribute to the £9 billion which will be delivered in the next spending period.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year. [302408]
Paul Goggins: The cost to my Department in the 2008-09 year for maintaining the website was £6,456.00. As this is a contracted out service the anticipated costs for 2010-11 will be the same as 2008-09.
Departmental Scientists
Hugh Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) scientific advisers and (b) civil servants in scientific posts there are in his Department. [302024]
Mr. Woodward: In the Northern Ireland Office Core Department there are no scientific advisers or scientific posts.
There are scientific posts in one of the Department's agencies, Forensic Science Northern Ireland. The requested information in relation to these posts is as follows:
(a) The Forensic Science Agency does not have specific scientific advisers,
(b) There are 144 civil servants, of which there are seven lead scientists, in scientific posts in the Forensic Science Agency.
Departmental Taxis
Ian Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what contracts his Department has with private hire taxi companies; and what expenditure his Department has incurred against each such contract in each of the last three years. [300838]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), including its arms length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, currently uses two contracts with private hire taxi companies. These contracts belong to the Department of Finance and Personnel in Belfast and the Cabinet Office in London. The names of the taxi companies cannot be disclosed for staff security reasons.
The increase in expenditure on taxis in the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) followed a review in 2007 when the Department adopted a policy which made greater use of taxis rather than private hire cars. While this change in policy has led to an increase in the cost of taxis, it has generated estimated whole year net savings of £150,000
The following table shows the total expenditure incurred by the NIO against these contracts in each of the last three years:
| £ | |
Each member of staff is advised that, before any business related journey is made, the most cost effective means of transport must be considered. Where the use of public transport or private car is not possible or economic, then the journey may be made by taxi.
The NIO keeps the cost of travel on official business under regular review.
Immobilisation of Vehicles
Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has paid in vehicle clamping charges incurred on (a) privately-owned and (b) publicly-owned land in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement. [302747]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office, including its arms length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, has not made any payments in relation to vehicle clamping charges during the last 10 years.
Police Service of Northern Ireland
Mr. Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) how many (a) regular and (b) full-time reserve police officers there have been in each constituency in Northern Ireland in each year since 2001; [303465]
(2) what percentage of the budget of the Police Service of Northern Ireland is spent on administrative costs; [303466]
(3) how many police officers in Northern Ireland are assigned to duties other than front-line policing; [303467]
(4) how many attacks there have been on (a) police officers, (b) traffic wardens and (c) Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency workers in Northern Ireland in each year since 2005; [303469]
(5) how many disabled people are employed as (a) regular police officers and (b) full-time reservists in the Police Service of Northern Ireland. [303473]
Paul Goggins: These are operational matters for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and copies of his letters will be placed in the Library of the House.
Treasury
Alcoholic Drinks: Fraud
Ms Angela C. Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue lost to the Exchequer through alcohol fraud in the tax year (a) 2006-07, (b) 2007-08 and (c) 2008-09. [302663]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Estimates of the loss of revenue arising from alcohol fraud across all alcoholic beverages are not available.
Estimates of the spirits level of fraud in 2006-07 were published by HMRC in "Measuring Indirect Tax Gaps-2008" in October 2008 which is available in the House of Commons Library. This is the most recent available estimate.
Ms Angela C. Smith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what progress has been made on the HM Revenue and Customs strategy on alcohol fraud since April 2009. [302664]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: HM Treasury continually monitors alcohol fraud and other related issues, and any changes would be announced at the time of the pre-Budget Report.
Capital Gains Tax: Second Homes
Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs takes to ensure that all second home owners who should pay capital gains tax do so. [302467]
Mr. Timms: Second homeowners self-assess their liability to capital gains tax (CGT) on the disposal of a second home. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) may inquire into returns where a disposal has been returned to check that the liability to tax is correct.
In addition, HMRC uses external databases of property sales to identify disposals of properties where no gain on the disposal has been notified to the Department, but where there is no evidence that the property is the individual's main or only residence.
The Department is currently running a project to check whether income and capital gains have been properly returned on certain types of property. To date, almost 4,500 cases with omitted disposals have been settled and around 2,500 cases are currently under inquiry.
Child Benefit
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of applications for child benefit were completed within (a) four, (b) eight and (c) 12 weeks in each of the last three years; [302233]
(2) what guidelines he has issued in respect of the maximum number of weeks required to process applications for child benefit from (a) all applicants and (b) parents of adopted children. [302235]
Mr. Timms: The information requested is not available.
For information on the time taken to pay new child benefit claims in 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09, I refer the hon. Member to the answers I gave to the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, South and East Cleveland (Dr. Kumar) on 2 February 2009, Official Report, column 894W; the hon. Member for Stroud (Mr. Drew) on 22 October 2008, Official Report, column 356W; and the hon. Member for Glasgow, East (John Mason) on 27 April 2009, Official Report, columns 1046-47W.
HM Revenue and Customs aims to pay 66 per cent. of new child benefit claims in nine working days in 2009-10 and all claims in an average of 20 calendar days.
Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what proportion of applications for child benefit from parents of adopted children were processed within the target maximum number of weeks in each of the last three years; [302234]
(2) how many applications for child benefit were received from parents of adopted children in each of the last three years. [302236]
Mr. Timms: The information is not available. HM Revenue and Customs does not record whether a child is adopted.
Child Care Vouchers
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his Department will set targets for the time taken by organisations to transfer child care voucher payments to childcare providers. [303345]
Mr. Timms: HM Revenue and Customs does not administer any schemes to provide childcare vouchers to parents. As such, neither HMRC nor HMT are in a position to set targets of the nature requested.
Floods: Cumbria
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) what estimate he has made of the uninsured losses incurred as a consequence of the recent floods in Cumbria; [302147]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of people affected by the recent flood in Cumbria who were unable to obtain insurance for (a) their buildings, (b) the contents of their buildings and (c) neither their buildings nor the contents of those buildings because of the risk of flooding to their properties; and if he will make a statement. [302148]
Sarah McCarthy-Fry: No such estimate has been made. However, the Government are sympathetic to those affected by the Cumbrian floods and have allocated an additional £1 million Community Recovery Fund towards the region.
KBR
Sir Menzies Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department has entered into any contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries since January 2009. [303331]
Members: Correspondence
Mr. Hands: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Chief Executive of HM Revenue and Customs plans to respond to the letters from the hon. Member for Hammersmith and Fulham of 28 July and 16 September 2009, sent on behalf of his constituent, Ms Jolanta Jones. [302834]
Mr. Timms: The letters were transferred upon receipt to the Department for Work and Pensions as the subject was the responsibility of that Department.
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