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1 Feb 2010 : Column 5W—continued
Prime Minister
Armed Forces: Compensation
John Austin: To ask the Prime Minister what further consideration he has given to the matters raised in the letters from the hon. Member for Erith and Thamesmead of 15 April, 28 May and 8 December 2009 on the treatment of compensation payments and calculation of benefits in respect of service personnel killed in action. [313124]
The Prime Minister: I have asked my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Work and Pensions (Helen Goodman) to meet my hon. Friend to discuss these matters.
Wales
Departmental Billing
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the average length of time taken by his Department to pay invoices from (a) small and medium-sized enterprises and (b) all creditors in the last 12 months. [315126]
Mr. Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Glasgow, East (John Mason) on 18 January 2010, Official Report, column 8W. Payment of all invoices is monitored and published in our departmental annual report, a copy of which can be found in the Library.
Departmental Manpower
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many employees in his Department are in transition prior to being managed out; how long on average the transition window between notification and exit has been in each of the last five years; what estimate he has made of the salary costs of staff in transition in each such year; and what proportion of employees in transition were classed as being so for more than six months in each year. [313250]
Industrial Health and Safety
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 19 January 2010, Official Report, column 215W, on industrial health and safety, if he will place in the Library a copy of the induction pack issued to new starters within his Department. [314018]
Mr. Hain: My Department's Induction Pack also contains the names and contact details of staff; information on security and evacuation procedures, and other sensitive information. On this basis, I am afraid that I am unable to place a copy in the Library of the House.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Departmental Advertising
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of his Department's expenditure on (a) television, (b) radio, (c) print and (d) online advertising in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11. [309933]
Dan Norris: The Department's estimated advertising spend for 2009-10 in the media specified is outlined in the table. Expenditure on advertising in these media for 2010-11 has yet to be agreed.
| Medium | Cost (£) |
Departmental Billing
John Mason: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what proportion of invoices from suppliers his Department paid within 10 days of receipt in December 2009. [311259]
Dan Norris: In December 2009 the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs paid 99.92 per cent. of invoices within 10 days.
Departmental Conferences
Mr. Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 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. [305867]
Dan Norris: Information on the conferences overseas attended by civil servants and the cost of such attendance could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Disclosure of Information
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether (a) agencies and (b) non-departmental public bodies for which his Department is responsible sell information on a commercial basis to (i) companies or individuals in the private sector and (ii) other organisations. [313224]
Dan Norris: DEFRA's agencies and NDPBs make most of their information available free of charge for non-commercial use. In some cases a small charge, to recover the marginal cost of supply, is levied. The Environment Agency, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and CEFAS supply some of their data on a commercial basis for which a charge is made in accordance with the reuse of public sector information regulations.
House of Commons Commission
Bars
Michael Fabricant: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission on what dates (a) Bellamy's Bar, (b) Bellamy's Club Room and (c) the Astor Suite have been refurbished since 1997; and what the cost was of each such refurbishment. [313557]
Nick Harvey: Since 1997, (a) Bellamy's Bar, (b) Bellamy's Club Room and (c) the Astor Suite have been refurbished once. The refurbishment spanned two years: the Astor Suite and the Club Room (part) in summer 2007; the bar and completion of the Club Room in summer 2008. The total cost of the refurbishment was £480,000 including fees and furnishings.
Of the £480,000 spent on the refurbishment, it is estimated that approximately £168,000 of the work would be of continuing benefit in a new child care facility and efforts would be made to reuse the furniture which was provided at a cost of £66,000.
Departmental Manpower
Sir Nicholas Winterton: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission pursuant to the answer of 18 January 2010, Official Report, column 2W, on manpower, for what reasons the comparable information for 2000-01 to 2006-07 is not available. [312687]
Nick Harvey: Detailed data of this nature are normally held only for the current year and the three prior financial years in accordance with the parliamentary authorised records disposal practice.
Food: Salt
Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission if the Commission will take steps to ensure that all House of Commons food outlets mark salt awareness week from 1 to 7 February 2010; and if he will make a statement. [314210]
Nick Harvey: The House of Commons Catering and Retail Services will be marking Salt Awareness Week from 1-7 February 2010 in the cafeterias by displaying notices publicising salt awareness week and reminding customers that, routinely, a lower sodium product is substituted for salt in the preparation of the dishes.
Culture, Media and Sport
Departmental Consultants
Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (1) how much consultants employed by his Department and its agencies have been paid (a) in total and (b) in reimbursable expenses in each of the last 10 years; [313994]
(2) how many consultants his Department and its agency employed in each of the last 10 years; and how many hours were worked by such consultants for his Department and its agencies in each such year. [314015]
Mr. Simon: The number of consultancy firms used by the Department, and by the Royal Parks, and the total associated cost, is set out in the table. The information for the Royal Parks includes all forms of consultancy, including arboriculture and ecology. Information on the number of consultants engaged, and the hours worked, is not available. Information on reimbursable expenses could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Housing
Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many (a) empty and (b) occupied residential properties his Department owns; and what recent estimate he has made of the (i) potential annual rental and (ii) total book value of those (A) empty and (B) occupied residential properties. [313797]
Mr. Simon: The Department owns five occupied residential properties in Windsor. Three of the properties were last valued at £35,000 each. Two of the properties are recorded in the departmental accounts with a token value of 1p.
Departmental Performance Pay
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 30 November 2009, Official Report, columns 375-76W, on departmental pay, how many and what proportion of staff of his Department received both an annual performance bonus and an in-year bonus in 2008-09; what the largest combined bonus payment to an individual was; what proportion of staff received no bonus; and who was responsible for awarding such bonuses. [313128]
Mr. Simon: The number and proportion of employees receiving both a year end and in year non-consolidated performance payment is set out in the following table, along with the largest combined payment and the proportion of employees not receiving a payment.
Decisions on who receives non-consolidated performance payments are made through a series of committees chaired by the relevant head of directorate, or a director general. Decisions are based on written recommendations made by the employee's line manager as part of the annual performance assessment.
Museums and Galleries: Finance
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 25 January 2010, Official Report, column 536W, how much of the funding for the (a) British Film Institute National Film Centre, (b) British Museum World Conservation and Exhibition Centre, (c) British Library Newspaper Archive and (d) new Stonehenge Visitor Centre will be allocated in (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11. [314201]
Mr. Simon [holding answer 29 January 2010]: Based on the projects' most recent spending profiles, the Department is currently expecting to fund the following amounts in each year:
| £ | ||
| 2009-10 | 2010-11 | |
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