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22 Feb 2010 : Column 38W—continued
Prisoners: Internet
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether prisoners in Northern Ireland have regular access to the internet. [316844]
Paul Goggins: Managed internet access arrangements that allow controlled access to approved sites are available to prisoners in Northern Ireland. Supervised access to approved sites is an essential part of education provision, in particular for prisoners who are studying Open University, ICT or Essential Skills courses.
Reoffenders
Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his most recent estimate is of the proportion of prisoners released from prisons in Northern Ireland who re-offended within two years. [316842]
Paul Goggins: The most recent estimate of prisoners released from prison in Northern Ireland who are reconvicted within two years was published by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) within 'Research and Statistical Bulletin 8/2008-Reconviction in Northern Ireland: Results from the 2005 Cohort'. During 2005, 892 people were released from immediate custody and, of these, 444 were reconvicted of a subsequent offence within two years of being released. This equates to a two-year reconviction rate of 49.8 per cent.
The bulletin can be downloaded from the following link:
House of Commons Commission
House of Commons: Buildings
Kate Hoey: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission when the carpets in the Chamber and the division lobbies were last replaced; by what means carpets removed were disposed of; and whether the House of Commons Commission has made a recent estimate of the cost of replacing those carpets. [316939]
Nick Harvey: The carpets in the Commons Chamber and Division Lobbies were last replaced in 1995; there is no record of the disposal method. The cost of replacing the carpets now is some £62,000, including fitting and VAT. The old carpet will be recycled into biofuel.
Members: Allowances
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission under what budgetary headings the House of Commons Commission has incurred expenditure in relation to (a) the review of the Additional Cost Allowance and (b) Sir Paul Kennedy's review. [316965]
Nick Harvey: The budgetary headings under which expenditure has been incurred for the Additional Cost Allowance review are: work commissioned, staff costs and office supplies. The budgetary headings in relation to Sir Paul Kennedy's work are: work commissioned, travel and office supplies.
Olympics
Olympic Games 2012: Essex
Mr. Burns: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what recent assessment she has made of the economic effects of the London 2012 Olympics on (a) West Chelmsford constituency and (b) Essex. [314889]
Tessa Jowell: The Government and the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games have established the Nations and Regions Group with representatives from each of the nations and English regions to maximise the economic, as well as the sporting and cultural, benefits of the 2012 Games.
To date, 84 businesses registered in the East of England have won contracts directly with the Olympic Delivery Authority, 27 of which are in Essex including one in West Chelmsford.
The London 2012 Business Network was set up to provide businesses across the UK with access to contracts in the London 2012 supply chains and any support they need to compete for them. At the end of January, over 11,600 businesses from the East of England had registered on CompeteFor, the electronic brokerage service for buyers and suppliers. So far 60 of these have won contracts. Businesses can find out about Games-related contract opportunities on CompeteFor at:
and for business support services, businesses in the East of England can contact Business Link at:
Hosting the Olympic Mountain Biking Competition in Hadleigh Farm in Essex will provide an opportunity to showcase the region to the rest of the UK and abroad, increasing further the potential for the region to benefit economically.
Prime Minister
Members: Correspondence
Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Prime Minister when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 29 November 2009 from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. Colin Bardsley. [316878]
The Prime Minister: A reply has been sent.
Stabilisation Unit
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Prime Minister which Minister is responsible for the Stabilisation Unit; and what the unit's budget is for 2009-10. [317514]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the press notice issued by my office on 9 February 2010. A copy is available on the No. 10 website:
Wales
Devolution: Referendums
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the cost to the public purse was of the most recent referendum on devolution in Wales. [316967]
Mr. Hain: The cost of the 1997 referendum on devolution in Wales was in the region of £2 million.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) what estimate he has made of the (a) highest and (b) lowest likely cost to the public purse of a referendum in Wales on the extension of powers under the Government of Wales Act 2006; [317312]
(2) by what mechanism public funding in respect of any referendum held in Wales on the extension of powers under the Government of Wales Act 2006 would be (a) provided and (b) allocated. [317313]
Mr. Hain: My officials are currently considering the potential costs of a referendum, and the mechanisms involved, for discussion with other key stakeholders.
Leader of the House
Departmental Training
Mr. Harper: To ask the Leader of the House whether any (a) staff away days and (b) staff team building exercises have been held for staff in the Leader of the House's Office in each of the last two years. [317267]
Barbara Keeley: A range of development opportunities are open to civil servants in the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons. These are discussed by each member of staff as part of their appraisal process.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Leader of the House how much was spent on (a) staff training and (b) communication training for the Leader of the House's Office in the last 12 months. [317271]
Barbara Keeley: Training courses are just one aspect of the development opportunities open to civil servants in the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons, and every member of staff discusses their personal development as part of their appraisal process.
Information on courses attended is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, during the last 12 months members of staff participated in training provided by external training organisations and internal training courses which are provided by the Cabinet Office free of charge.
Women and Equality
Crimes of Violence: Females
Mrs. May: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much the Government Equalities Office spent on producing and distributing the Tackling violence against women and girls: a guide to good practice communication document. [316958]
Maria Eagle: The production of "Tackling violence against women and girls: a guide to good practice communication" cost the GEO £134,868.78 excluding VAT. This cost includes considerable new research. The guide is a web-based document; therefore no distribution costs were incurred. The guide has been well received by partners in government and outside.
Departmental Disabled Staff
Mr. Harper: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many and what proportion of staff in (a) the Government Equalities Office and (b) the executive agencies for which she is responsible are disabled; and what the average salary in the Office is of (i) full-time disabled staff, (ii) full-time non-disabled staff, (iii) part-time disabled staff and (iv) part-time non-disabled staff. [317904]
Michael Jabez Foster: The Government Equalities Office has less than 10 staff that have elected to declare themselves as disabled. Given these small numbers it is not appropriate to give the information requested.
Departmental Energy
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what the estimated (a) amount and (b) cost was of energy used in her Department and its agencies in each year since 1997; what proportion of the energy used was generated from renewable sources in each of those years; and if she will make a statement. [317240]
Michael Jabez Foster: Since it's creation on 12 October 2007, the Government Equalities Office has occupied accommodation in Communities and Local Government-owned buildings under a memorandum of terms of occupancy. The invoices that result do not show the components of the cost of GEO occupancy and no figures are available on the amount and cost of energy used.
Departmental Official Hospitality
John Mason: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how many receptions she has hosted for representatives of print and broadcast media since 3 October 2008. [316790]
Michael Jabez Foster: No receptions have been hosted for representatives of print and broadcast media since 3 October 2008.
Departmental Travel
Mr. Watson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality if she will publish the travel guidance issued to staff of the Government Equalities Office's non-departmental public bodies. [314930]
Maria Eagle: The Government Equalities Office does not issue separate travel guidance to their non-departmental public bodies which are:
Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC)
Women's National Commission (WNC)
WNC uses the same policy as the Government Equalities Office (GEO) which will be published on GEO's external website at:
The EHRC follows its own travel policy and a copy of their travel guidance will be placed in the Library.
Equality and Human Rights Commission: Databases
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality pursuant to the answer of 13 January 2010, Official Report, column 1003W, on Equality and Human Rights Commission: databases, what the budget is for the new equality measurement framework database; whether it will hold personal data; what anonymised Census data it will use; whether a privacy impact assessment for that database will be prepared; and which organisations will be asked to provide data for that database. [314959] [Official Report, 26 February 2010, Vol. 506, c. 9-10MC.]
Maria Eagle: The Equality and Human Rights Commission budget for the development of the Equality Measurement Framework tool (EMF) is £2 million.
The plan is that no personal data will be stored or used within the context of the framework and because the data will be drawn from existing surveys most of which are already accessible to members of the public there will be no requirement for a privacy impact assessment.
The framework will not be using anonymised census information.
The intention is that data will be drawn from the following organisations: The Office for National Statistics, the NHS, the devolved Administrations, Government Departments, local government and the police force.
Feltham
Alan Keen: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality if she will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Feltham and Heston constituency, the effects on that constituency of changes to the Government Equalities Office's policies since its establishment. [316684]
Maria Eagle: The Government Equalities Office operates at a strategic level across Government to promote policies which address discrimination. It is not possible to provide statistical information about the effects on Feltham and Heston of the policies and actions of GEO since it was established.
Prostitution: Internet
Mr. Evans: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality whether the Government Equalities Office has made a recent estimate of the number of prostitutes who have become involved in the sex industry by making contact with companies on the internet; whether she plans to seek to prevent the use of the internet for such purposes; and if she will make a statement. [316076]
Maria Eagle: The Government have not made an estimate of the number of prostitutes who have become involved in the sex industry through establishing contact via the internet.
As part of the Violence Against Women Strategy, published in November 2009, the Government have also made a commitment to explore what action can be taken to challenge the advertising of prostitution.
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Agriculture: Sewage
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the estimated completion date is of his Department's review of the Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations. [317795]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Sludge (Use in Agriculture) Regulations 1989 and associated code of practice are currently being reviewed by DEFRA. Subject to policy clearance we will publish the proposals for a review, and draft regulations and a code of practice for public consultation, prior to making new regulations. This work is under way, but it is not possible to estimate how quickly the new regulations can be made.
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