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24 Feb 2010 : Column 564W—continued
Departmental Internet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many designs for its website his Department has commissioned since 2005. [318655]
Mr. Sutcliffe: My Department commissioned one redesign of its website in 2005. We are currently redesigning the website home page.
Departmental Temporary Employment
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which companies were contracted by his Department for the provision of temporary staff in each of the last three years; how many temporary staff were employed by his Department in each such year; and what the monetary value was of contracts with each such company in each such year. [317997]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is shown in the following tables.
| Supplier | |||
| (£) | |||
| 2008-09 | 2007-08 | 2006-07 | |
| 2008-09 | 2007-08 | 2006-07 | |
Holiday Accommodation
Richard Younger-Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the compliance with European Commission state aid rules of his Department's policy on the participation in marketing initiatives promoted by (a) Visit England and (b) Visit Britain by operators of holiday homes who do not participate in the National Quality Assurance scheme; and if he will make a statement. [316863]
Margaret Hodge: My Department has been involved in discussions with the European Commission in relation to the specific matters raised by the hon. Member. These discussions have not been concluded and it would be inappropriate to comment on them at this time.
The Department's objective is to ensure that the activities of VisitBritain and VisitEngland are compatible with the rules relating to state aid.
Theatre: Young People
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many free theatre tickets have been provided to under-26 year olds by the Arts Council since February 2009. [310092]
Margaret Hodge: Between February 2009 and November 2009, 121,742 tickets were taken up by young people under the 'A Night Less Ordinary' scheme. Over 20,000 of these tickets have been given away by organisations based in the West Midlands.
Results from 1 December 2009 to 28 February 2010 will be made available in April.
Mr. Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of Arts Councils England's A Night Less Ordinary scheme in achieving its objectives. [317185]
Margaret Hodge: An independent evaluation project is running alongside the two year 'A Night Less Ordinary' scheme.
The evaluation will identify, record and measure the effectiveness of the scheme in achieving its objectives at a national and local level.
'A Night Less Ordinary' is a pathfinder programme and the report will help inform the future direction of the programme. We also expect the report to be a useful audience development tool for the entire theatre sector. Evaluation reports will be published in due course.
Olympics
Departmental Written Questions
David Simpson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what average time her Office took to answer questions for (a) ordinary written answer and (b) written answer on a named day in the last 12 months. [313675]
Tessa Jowell: Information on the average time taken to answer parliamentary questions is not readily available in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However in my role as Minister for the Olympics, during 2009, I answered 28 per cent. of ordinary written and 45 per cent. of named day questions on time. These figures are unacceptable and were due to failings in departmental processes. Work has been done to mitigate these failings, and future figures should reflect this.
Further to this, with effect from the current Session of Parliament, each Department will provide the Procedure Committee with sessional statistics on the time taken to
answer written questions. This implements recommendation 24 of the 3rd report from the Procedure Committee, Session 2008-09.
Olympic Games 2012: Construction
Jim Cousins: To ask the Minister for the Olympics what steps she is taking to encourage construction workers from the North East to work on construction sites for the London 2012 Olympics; and how many such workers there are. [313910]
Tessa Jowell: At the end of December 2009, 41 per cent. of the Olympic park workforce were from parts of the UK outside of London. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) does not measure the number of workers from each region. People from the North East can access employment opportunities through the national Jobcentre Plus network and businesses from the North East that have won Olympic-related contracts are providing further economic benefits for the region.
In addition to those working on the park, the ODA has 17 direct suppliers registered in the North East, including the designer of the Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre for Games and legacy from Newcastle upon Tyne. More businesses are securing work further down the supply chain, such as the Durham-based company providing roof cladding for the aquatics centre and the company from Wallsend who are supplying and operating jack machines for bridges and highways projects. More information on businesses that have won Games-related contracts can be found at the business section of the London 2012 website:
The ODA and its partners have put a range of measures in place to help local people in particular access training and employment opportunities on the Olympic park, which includes 48 hours' exclusive access to vacancies.
Olympic Games 2012: Recruitment
Mr. Frank Field: To ask the Minister for the Olympics if she will ensure that notification of job vacancies arising from the London 2012 Olympics is made through Jobcentre Plus before such vacancies are advertised elsewhere. [316829]
Tessa Jowell: Vacancies on the Olympic park can be accessed across the UK through the national Jobcentre Plus network. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and its partners have put in place a range of measures to help local people in particular access training and employment opportunities on the site.
Vacancies are offered exclusively to each of the five host borough employment brokerages and Jobcentre Plus offices in the area for a period of 48 hours, to give local people the best possible chance of accessing vacancies on the site. Vacancies unfilled after this time are then made available across London through Relay London Jobs and Jobcentre Plus for a further 24-hours, before being made available nationally through the Jobcentre Plus network. At the end of December 2009, 20 per cent. of the Olympic park workforce were from the five Olympic host boroughs, 33 per cent. from other London
boroughs and 41 per cent. from the UK outside of London. 11 per cent. of the workforce were previously unemployed.
In addition to direct employment opportunities on the park, companies are winning contracts both directly with the ODA and in the supply chains of its contractors, helping to spread the economic benefits of the games across the UK. In the North West alone, 44 businesses are directly supplying the ODA and many more are winning work further down the supply chain, such as the Horwich-based company providing steelworks for the Stadium and the Merseyside company supplying roof cladding for the Aquatics Centre.
More information on businesses that have won games-related contracts can be found at the business section of the London 2012 website at:
Work and Pensions
Children: Maintenance
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases under consideration by the Child Support Agency involve absent parents in (a) Scotland and (b) Perth and North Perthshire constituency. [317061]
Helen Goodman: The Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission is responsible for the child maintenance system. I have asked the Child Maintenance Commissioner to write to the hon. Member with the information requested and I have seen the response.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 24 February 2010:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Child Maintenance Commissioner as the Child Support Agency is now the responsibility of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many cases under consideration by the Child Support Agency involve absent parents in (a) Scotland and (b) Perth and North Perthshire constituency. [317061]
I have interpreted 'under consideration' as cases where an application has been made but which has yet to be cleared.
The Child Support Agency's performance has continued to show improvement over the last quarter, building on the stable base provided by successful completion of the Operational Improvement Plan in March 2009.
As at December 2009, the number of uncleared cases in Scotland was 2,120, which represents a 20% decrease from 2,650 in September 2009. In Perth and North Perthshire Parliamentary constituency the volume of uncleared cases fell from 55 in September 2009 to 45 in December 2009. These figures include both old and current scheme applications and those cases administered clerically.
Nationally, uncleared applications fell to 28,900 in December 2009, which is a 6,300 (18%) reduction from September 2009.
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Departmental ICT
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which of her Department's information technology projects have been outsourced in the last three years; and what the monetary value was of each contract let in respect of such projects. [313374]
Jim Knight: The provision of IT services to the Department for Work and Pensions in support of business change has been outsourced to private sector suppliers since it was created in 2001. There has been no further outsourcing in the last three years.
Departmental Surveys
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether her Department has conducted any staff satisfaction surveys in the last 12 months. [317156]
Jonathan Shaw: DWP has conducted two such surveys in the last 12 months: in March 2009 and as part of the Civil Service People Survey in October 2009.
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