Written Answers to Questions
Monday 14 December 2009
Scotland
Christmas
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many Christmas trees were purchased by his Department in each of the last five years; what the cost was of those trees in each year; from where the trees were sourced; what account was taken of the sustainability of the sources of the trees; and by what process the trees were disposed of. [305632]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office do not set aside a specific budget for Christmas trees and the costs are not separately identifiable. All the trees came from sustainable sources and are recycled into green compost.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department has budgeted for Christmas trees in 2009. [306692]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office do not set aside a specific budget for Christmas trees.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months. [305674]
Ann McKechin: Under the terms of its building leases the Office is required to maintain its buildings to an acceptable standard of decoration and repair. The Scotland Office does not separately identify the costs of renovation and refurbishment from the routine repair and replacement of existing facilities. Over the period of the last 12 months, the expenditure on offices allocated to Ministers was £3,150.
Departmental Conferences
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which conferences held overseas have been attended by civil servants based in his Department in the last three years; and what the cost to the public purse was of such attendance at each conference. [305857]
Ann McKechin: No civil servants in the Scotland Office have attended conferences held overseas in the last three years.
Departmental Electronic Equipment
Mr. Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many plasma screen televisions his Department has purchased since 2001; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens in each such year. [306070]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office has not purchased any plasma screen televisions.
Departmental Lost Property
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) laptop computers, (b) desktop computers and (c) memory sticks his Department has recorded as having been (i) lost and (ii) stolen (A) in total and (B) from its offices in Scotland in each of the last 10 years. [306697]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office was established on 1 July 1999. Since this date one laptop used by a Scotland Office official was stolen in February 2000. The laptop did not contain any secure information. There are no recorded losses or thefts of memory sticks or desk top computers.
Departmental Sick Leave
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many days sickness absence were taken by staff in his Department in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what the cost to his Department was of such absence. [305548]
Ann McKechin: All staff are on secondment from the Scottish Executive or the Ministry of Justice; who as parent Departments have absence management policies that apply to those of their staff working in this Office. We do not maintain a separate central record of sick absences. Such records are held by the parent Departments who publish their sick absence statistics.
Departmental Training
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many overseas training courses were attended by his Department's civil servants in the latest period for which figures are available; how many civil servants attended each course; and what the total cost to the public purse was of each course. [305889]
Ann McKechin: No overseas training courses have been attended by Scotland Office staff.
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much his Department spent on away days in the last 12 months; and what the (a) subject and (b) location of each away day was. [306403]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office business planning away day in Edinburgh at a cost £2,660, was the only expenditure incurred in the last 12 months.
Departmental Written Questions
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many and what percentage of parliamentary questions tabled for written answer by his Department on a named day in session 2008-09 received a substantive answer on that day. [307545]
Ann McKechin: In session 2008-09, 32 named day parliamentary questions were tabled to the Scotland Office. 75 per cent. received a substantive answer on the named day.
Central guidance on answering parliamentary questions is now available in the 'Guide to Parliamentary Work', at:
In the response to the Procedure Committee Report on written parliamentary questions, the Government accept the Committee's recommendation that Departments be required to provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics in a standard format on the time taken to respond to written parliamentary questions, accompanied by an explanatory memorandum setting out any factors affecting their performance. This will be taken forward as soon as possible.
Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he last visited Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre on official business. [305734]
Mr. Jim Murphy: I have never visited Dungavel Immigration Removal Centre on official business in my capacity as Secretary of State for Scotland.
Excise Duties: Fuels
Mr. MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will discuss with the Chancellor of the Exchequer the merits of reducing the rate of fuel duty levied in rural areas of Scotland. [307123]
Ann McKechin: My right hon. Friend and I have regular discussions with HM Treasury about a range of issues affecting Scotland. Decisions on fuel duty rates are a matter for the Chancellor, who takes into account a range of factors in setting them. Reducing the rate of fuel duty levied in rural areas of Scotland would represent a departure from the principle of uniform duty rates across the UK.
Transport
Civil Servants: Allowances
Mr. Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when the business expenses incurred by senior civil servants in his Department will be published on his Department's website. [305947]
Chris Mole: Business expenses incurred by Department for Transport senior civil servants were published on our website on 9 December 2009:
Additional information in the form of a departmental senior civil servant hospitality register will be published shortly, although a release date is currently to be confirmed.
Civil Servants: Pay
Mr. Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the total basic pay bill was of members of the senior civil service within his Department in (a) 2008 and (b) 2009. [305950]
Chris Mole: The total basic pay bill for the senior civil service in the Department for Transport was £15,580,392 in 2008 and £16,686,383 in 2009.
Mr. Leech: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the mean average percentage pay increase for members of the senior civil service in his Department was in 2009. [305951]
Chris Mole: The average percentage pay increase in 2009 for members of the senior civil service in the Department for Transport was 2.3 per cent.
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Baron: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department spent on works and refurbishment to offices allocated to Ministers in his Department's buildings in the last 12 months. [305679]
Chris Mole: The Department for Transport spent £1,693.24 on works and refurbishment to Ministers' offices over the last 12 months. There was also some expenditure on general maintenance of the plant and equipment related to the location of the Ministers' offices but this was not separately identified from general building maintenance.
Departmental Electronic Equipment
Mr. Hands: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many plasma screen televisions his Department has purchased since 2001; and what the cost has been of purchasing and installing such screens in each such year. [306067]
Chris Mole: The breakdown requested is not held centrally and to attempt to provide it now would incur disproportionate cost.
Departmental Freedom of Information
Sarah Teather: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many requests under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 his Department received in 2008; and how many of these received a substantive response within 20 days. [305489]
Chris Mole: Statistics published by the Ministry of Justice on Freedom of Information in central Government for 2008 show that a total of 1,964 non-routine requests were received by the Department for Transport (based on aggregated quarterly data), 85 per cent. (1,679) received a substantive response within 20 days. 89 per cent. (1,751) of requests were dealt with 'in time', that is within 20 days by meeting the deadline or other permitted extension deadlines.
The statistics can be found on the Ministry of Justice website at:
and copies are available in the Library of the House.
Departmental Internet
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what redesigns of websites operated by (a) his Department and (b) its agencies have taken place since 27 June 2007; and what the (i) cost to the public purse and (ii) date of completion of each such redesign was. [306158]
Chris Mole: Tables have been placed in the Libraries of the House showing a list of websites currently operated by the Department for Transport and its agencies who have undertaken a redesign since 27 June 2007; the cost of the redesign and subsequent date of completion. Costs provided are those incurred by external suppliers and do not include internal staff costs. To provide internal staff costs would incur disproportionate costs.
David T.C. Davies:
To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what redesigns of websites operated by the Office of Rail Regulation have taken
place since 27 June 2007; and what the (a) cost to the public purse and (b) date of completion of each such redesign was. [306212]
Chris Mole: The independent Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) redesigned their intranet and website during 2007-08. The total cost for the redesign of both was £107,169, including consultancy fees, costs of external suppliers involved in the redesign and provision of specialist IT equipment to deliver the project. The updated intranet and website went live on 10 November 2008.
Departmental Mobile Phones
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department spent on (a) purchases of and (b) bills for use of (i) Blackberrys and (ii) other mobile telephones in (A) 2008-09 and (B) 2009-10. [303103]
Chris Mole: The information requested for the Department for Transport and its agencies is as follows:
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