Written Answers to Questions
Monday 18 January 2010
Northern Ireland
Departmental Pay
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 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. [307108]
Mr. Woodward: Non-consolidated performance payments are made to staff in the senior civil service in line with Cabinet Office guidance and also to staff at grades D2 to A in line with HM Treasury guidance. These payments are made to reward performance throughout the previous reporting year.
Under a separate scheme, non-consolidated special performance payments are awarded to staff to reward particularly meritorious contributions throughout the year.
The total amount of non-consolidated performance payments made to Northern Ireland Office (NIO) staff since 2006 is shown in the following tables.
| Number of non-consolidated year end performance payments | ||
| Number of payments | Total amount (£) | |
| (1) This figure does not include non-consolidated performance payments made by the Northern Ireland Prison Service to staff below senior civil service. | ||
| Number of in-year special performance payments | ||
| Number of payments | Total amount (£) | |
Departmental Training
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many sessions of media training were organised for Ministers in his Department in each of the last three years. [310755]
Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has not organised media training sessions for Ministers in the last three years.
Employment Tribunals Service
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many employment tribunals relating to his Department have been held in each of the last five years; and what the cost to his Department was of such tribunals in each such year. [309939]
Paul Goggins: Only one employment tribunal relating to the Northern Ireland Office core Department has been held in the last five years. The hearing took place in 2007 and found in favour of the Department. Legal costs of £1,762.50 have been paid to date.
Olympic Games: Canada
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department are planning to attend the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February 2010; and what estimate he has made of the cost of such attendance. [310852]
Paul Goggins: Since 1999, the Government have published on an annual basis a list of all overseas visits by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of £500, as well as the total cost of all ministerial travel overseas. The list also provides information on the number of officials who accompany Ministers. Copies are available in the Libraries of the House. Information for 2009-10 will be published as soon as the information is available.
All travel by Ministers and civil servants is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Civil Service Management Code respectively.
Church Commissioners
Church of England: Pay
Norman Lamb: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners how much the Church of England pension funds paid in bonuses to staff in each of the last three financial years. [310796]
Sir Stuart Bell: Neither the Church of England Pensions Board (which is responsible for clergy pensions earned on service after I January 1998 as well as pension schemes for lay employees of Church organisations) nor the Church Commissioners (responsible for pre-1998 clergy pensions) have paid staff bonuses in the last three financial years.
House of Commons Commission
Manpower
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission how many people were employed by the House in (a) visitor services, (b) the Parliamentary Education Service, (c) catering and (d) security in each of the last 10 years; at what cost in each of those years, how many police worked on security for the House on the parliamentary estate in each of those years; and at what cost in each of those years. [310543]
Nick Harvey: The number of people directly employed on these services together with the related cost in the last three years has been:
| 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 | ||||
| Number | Cost (£000) | Number | Cost (£000) | Number | Cost (£000) | |
The figures show the total number of staff at 1 April each year, excluding casual staff recruited to meet short-term work requirements (e.g. summer tour guides). With the exception of catering, these services are bicameral with the House of Lords being re-charged a proportion of the expenditure incurred. The costs shown represent the Commons share only of all salary-related expenditure. Comparable information before 2006-07 is not available. Security staff listed are not employed by Parliament but provided by the Metropolitan Police Service under the Special Service Agreement.
Scotland
Departmental Internet
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland which websites his Department's staff are blocked from accessing from departmental networked computers. [310246]
Ann McKechin: The Scotland Office shares an information technology system (SCOTS) with the Scottish Executive, which is responsible for the development, administration, maintenance, monitoring and security of the system, including the provision of hardware and software. An IT Code of Conduct is in place which provides advice and guidance to staff on safe usage of the system, along with software which blocks user access to websites in specified categories for reasons of appropriateness of content or to protect the integrity of the network. This conforms to the same standards as are set out in the HMG Security Policy Framework.
Olympic Games: Canada
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many (a) Ministers and (b) officials from his Department are planning to attend the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in February 2010; and what estimate he has made of the cost of such attendance. [310844]
Ann McKechin: Neither my right hon. Friend nor I have any plans to attend the winter Olympics in Vancouver. There are no plans for his officials to visit the winter Olympics either. Consequently, there will be no costs.
Olympics
Olympic Village
8. Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Minister for the Olympics when she next expects to meet representatives of relevant local authorities to discuss use of the Olympic Village after the London 2012 Olympics. [310886]
Tessa Jowell: I hold regular meetings with the leaders and mayors of the five east London host boroughs, along with my ministerial colleagues at Communities and Local Government, on a range of issues relating to ensuring a sustainable legacy for east London from the games, including on housing provision on the park site.
After the games the Olympic village will become a significant asset to this part of east London, with over 2,800 homes providing a mixture of private and social housing, available for take-up by both local people and others.
London 2012: Legacy
Judy Mallaber: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what assessment she has made of the legacy to Amber Valley and the east midlands of hosting the London 2012 Olympics. [310880]
Tessa Jowell: Amber Valley, the east midlands and the whole of the UK will benefit from the sporting, economic and cultural opportunities created by the 2012 Games.
I am aware of two companies based in Amber Valley that have secured contracts to supply the London 2012 Aquatics Centre. 36 businesses registered in the east midlands have won work supplying the Olympic Delivery Authority.
Furthermore, 21 cultural projects in the east midlands have been awarded the Inspire Mark, which provides brand recognition to projects which have been inspired by the 2012 Games, and the Japanese National Olympic Committee have agreed to use Loughborough university and other selected facilities to prepare for the 2012 Games.
Departmental Billing
John Mason: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what proportion of invoices from suppliers the Government Olympic Executive paid within 10 days of receipt in November and December 2009. [311202]
Tessa Jowell: The proportion of invoices paid within 10 days of receipt by the Government Olympic Executive (GOE) was 98.46 per cent. in November 2009 and 94.55 per cent. in December 2009.
As GOE reports to me as Minister for the Olympics through the permanent secretary to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), information on invoices paid by GOE will be included within the overall DCMS figure which will be provided by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at DCMS.
Government Olympic Executive: Pay
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many (a) year-end and (b) in-year bonuses were paid to officials in the Government Olympic Executive in each of the last three years; and how much was paid in such bonuses in each such year. [307100]
Tessa Jowell: The Government Olympic Executive (GOE), which reports to the Minister for the Cabinet Office, Olympics, London and Paymaster General through the Permanent Secretary to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), makes non-consolidated performance payments to its employees for two purposes: (a) in year non-consolidated performance payments to reward outstanding contributions in particularly demanding tasks or situations; and (b) year end non-consolidated performance payments to reward highly successful performance over a whole year. In both cases they help drive high performance.
Non-consolidated performance payments are an integral element of the reward package for staff, have to be re-earned each year and do not add to future pay bill costs (e.g. pensions).
Details of both in-year and year end non-consolidated performance payments for GOE are set out in the table.
These figures are exclusive of two key senior staff in GOE, who were appointed on fixed term contracts ending in 2012 and whose remuneration reflects extensive relevant experience and the unique challenge of delivering the Olympics to a fixed deadline. Details of their remuneration were published in the departmental Annual Reports and Accounts 2009.
| Number of in-year non-consolidated performance payments | Number of year end non-consolidated performance payments | Total (£) | |
As GOE is part of DCMS, GOE bonus payments were included in the overall DCMS figures given in the answer by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at DCMS on 2 December 2009, Official Report, column 722W.
Olympic Games 2012
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what procedures are in place under which British citizens may apply to work on construction projects in connection with the London 2012 Olympics. [310928]
Tessa Jowell:
Through the 'Jobs, Skills, Futures' brokerage service the Olympic Delivery Authority works in partnership with contractors on the Olympic Park to identify job vacancies that can be made available to local people.
Local people, those who give a permanent address in one of the five host boroughs, are given priority access to vacancies that arise on the park. Vacancies are initially offered exclusively and equally to each of the five host borough employment brokerage services and through local Jobcentre Plus offices for a period 48 hours. If no suitable candidates are put forward by the local employment brokerage services, vacancies are then made available throughout London for a further 24 hours though Relay London Jobs. If after this time vacancies are unfilled, they are then advertised nationally through the Jobcentre Plus network.
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