Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 16 December 2009
Prime Minister
Central Ayrshire: Visit
Q13. Mr. Donohoe: To ask the Prime Minister when he next plans to visit Central Ayrshire. [307400]
Ms Harman: I have been asked to answer.
My right hon. Friend has no current plans to do so.
Cabinet: Meetings
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Prime Minister what the (a) dates, (b) locations and (c) cost to the public purse have been of each meeting of the Cabinet held outside London since 27 June 2007. [306113]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to my answers of: 29 October 2008, Official Report, column 1017W; 29 January 2009, Official Report, column 738W; 13 March 2009, Official Report, column 802W; 18 June 2009, Official Report, column 451W; 3 June 2009, Official Report, column 487W; and 7 May 2009, Official Report, column 378W.
The Cabinet met in Cardiff on July 23 2009. This was linked with a number of ministerial visits across the region; there was a public engagement event with around 203 people which was followed by a formal Cabinet meeting The cost of the public engagement event and the Cabinet meeting was approximately £77,433.61, excluding VAT. There are no separate figures for the Cabinet meeting. The figure includes the cost of hiring the venue, catering, associated security and delegate management. In addition, Departments and agencies will have incurred costs in terms of travel, staff time and other support. The cost of any security provided by the police is a matter for the relevant police force.
The visit of the Cabinet to Nottingham was on 20 November 2009. The final cost figures for this event are not yet available.
Written Questions: Government Responses
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Prime Minister when he plans to respond to question 304527, on the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, tabled on 1 December 2009. [307609]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 10 December 2009, Official Report, column 548W.
Wales
Departmental Billing
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many and what proportion of invoices submitted to his Department have been paid within 10 days in each month since October 2008; and if he will make a statement. [307962]
Mr. Hain: Since October 2008, my Department has paid the following number of invoices each month.
| Number of invoices paid | Percentage paid within 10 days | |
Departmental Conferences
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) away days and (b) conferences that took place outside his Department's building attended by civil servants in his Department there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each. [307510]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office held one away day a year from 2006 until 2008 for the whole of the office. The cost of these venues was £8,055.40 in 2006, £13,526.04 in 2007 and £4,662 in 2008. In 2009, there were two events held for Legislation Branch and for Policy Branch. There was no cost for the venue for Legislation Branch and a charge of £596.75 for the venue for Policy Branch.
Departmental Legislation
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what criminal offences have been (a) created and (b) abolished by secondary legislation sponsored by his Department since 1 May 2008. [307792]
Departmental Pay
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much funding his Department has allocated for (a) year end and (b) in year bonuses for its staff in 2009-10. [307022]
Mr. Hain: My Department does not allocate a budget specifically for bonuses.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many (a) year end and (b) in-year bonuses were paid to officials in his Department in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in such bonuses in each such year. [307105]
Mr. Hain: My Department paid the following in year bonuses:
One in 2006-07, nine in 2007-08 and two in 2008-09.
We paid the following year end bonuses:
Zero in 2006-07, five in 2007-08 and one in 2008-09.
The total amount paid in each year is as follows:
£862.30 in 2006-07, £5,200 in 2007-08 and £2,050 in 2008-09.
Departmental Written Questions
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales 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. [307550]
Mr. Hain: There were 22 named day parliamentary questions tabled for answer representing 88 per cent. which received a substantive answer.
Electoral Commission Committee
Departmental Conferences
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the hon. Member for South West Devon, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission how many (a) away days and (b) conferences that took place outside the Electoral Commission's buildings attended by civil servants in the Electoral Commission there have been since 2005; and what the cost was of each. [307469]
Mr. Streeter: The Electoral Commission informs me that to provide the information in the format requested would incur disproportionate costs. However, its expenditure on conference attendance, annual staff conferences and team development and planning days for the years requested was as follows:
| £ | |||
| Financial year | Expenditure on conference attendance | Annual staff conference | Expenditure on team development and planning days held off site |
The expenditure on conference attendance typically covers the attendance of Commissioners and Commission staff at the following types of events:
Political Party Conferences
Local political party events
Association of Electoral Administrators conferences
Local Government Association conferences
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) conferences.
The Electoral Commission is independent of Government and its 171 staff members are not civil servants.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Environmental Protection Flood Risk Regulations 2009
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will delay the entering into force of the Environmental Protection Flood Risk Regulations 2009 due to enter into force on 10 December 2009 until (a) all interested parties have been consulted and (b) both Houses of Parliament have scrutinised the Statutory Instrument. [307383]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The Government consulted on provisions to implement the EU Floods Directive in the draft Flood and Water Management Bill (Cmnd 7582) published on 21 April. We received nearly 650 responses and these are summarised on DEFRA's website and are available from the DEFRA library. The EFRA Select Committee also scrutinised the draft Bill.
Specific reference was made to the regulations in the written ministerial statement on 19 November when the Flood and Water Management Bill was introduced and the Government response (Cmnd 7741) to the EFRA Select Committee report and to the consultation was published. All interested parties, including Parliament, have had an opportunity to scrutinise our plans for transposing the directive.
Laying the regulations on the day that the Flood and Water Management Bill was introduced provided an opportunity for each to be considered in the context of the other. The regulations have been considered by the House of Lords Select Committee on the Merits of Statutory Instruments and officials provided clarification to the committee.
Fishing Catches
Mr. Benyon: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) how much in tonnes and what percentage of UK fish catch was sent abroad for processing and then returned to the UK in the latest period for which figures are available; [307499]
(2) to which countries fish catch is sent for processing before being returned to the UK; and what weight of fish was sent to each country in the latest period for which figures are available. [307638]
Huw Irranca-Davies: Information on UK imports and exports of fish are published in UK Sea Fisheries Statistics, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House. Figures on the amount of fish exported for fish processing are not collected centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Floods: Property Development
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his most recent assessment is of progress in the revision of Planning Policy Statement 25 since June 2009; and what estimate he has made of the number of houses to have a flood kit. [306810]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The Government agree with Sir Michael Pitt's Review of the summer 2007 floods that found that the policy approach in Planning Policy Statement 25: Development and Flood Risk (PPS25) is sound and should be rigorously applied.
On 11 August 2009 the Department for Communities and Local Government (CLG) published proposals for public consultation to make a limited number of amendments to Annexe D of PPS25 to clarify how certain aspects of the policy should be applied. The public consultation period closed on 3 November and CLG is now considering the responses received.
No estimate has been made of the number of properties that have prepared a flood kit. As outlined in our recent Pitt progress report, we have always acknowledged this was up to individuals, but would be supported by communication campaigns taken forward by the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency has done this in its recent "Preparing for a Flood" guide, which promotes how flood kits should be made up.
Metals: Waste Disposal
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to amend the Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2009 in respect of their provision for the metal recycling sector. [306333]
Dan Norris: The Environmental Permitting (England and Wales) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulations 2009 will come into force in April 2010. The regulations will allow operators to benefit from new or revised exemptions that are free to register for, from that date. The regulations also include transitional provisions for those existing operations that will be required to obtain an environmental permit. In the case of the metal recycling sector, operators who need a permit will be required to apply for one by 30 September 2013. This period has been provided to allow operators sufficient time to fulfil the requirements for obtaining a permit. It would, therefore, be inappropriate to suggest revisions at this time as these changes are being implemented.
I would also refer the hon. Member to my written answer 14 December, Official Report, column 655W, on the subject of how we will subsequently review the 2009 Regulations.
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