| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
17 Mar 2010 : Column 863W—continued
For the operators shown above, the total number of services operated from which short-formed trains are reported, is shown in the following table. In some cases, operators are not required to monitor and report all services operated.
| 2009 | 2010 | |||||
| Train o perator | Aug - Sept | Sept-Oct | Oct - Nov | Nov-Dec | Dec-Jan | Jan-Feb |
| (1) A new franchise agreement commenced on 20 September 2009 and equivalent data was not previously reported | ||||||
Wales
Unemployment
10. Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the level of unemployment in Wales. [321817]
Mr. David: The Government's extra investment in jobs, education and training is making a real difference in Wales. Latest labour market statistics show the employment level in Wales rising by 7,000 from the previous quarter.
11. Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent estimate he has made of the level of long-term unemployment in Neath constituency. [321818]
Mr. Hain: Despite the worst global economic recession in the last 60 years, this Government's action has ensured that long-term unemployment in Neath is over 60 per cent. lower than it was in 1997, with long-term youth unemployment over 40 per cent. lower.
Industrial Action
12. Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many days were lost to industrial action in Wales in 2009. [321819]
Mr. David: Figures for 2009 are currently not available. However, in 2008, the number of working days lost to industrial action in Wales was 55,000. This was just over 7 per cent. of the total working days lost in the United Kingdom (759,000) in 2008.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales pursuant to the answer of 4 March 2010, Official Report, column 1303W, on departmental internet, what the cost was of the website redesign. [321923]
Mr. Hain: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Monmouth (David T. C. Davies) on 14 December 2009, Official Report, column 643W.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many designs for its (a) internal website and (b) intranet his Department has commissioned since 2005; and what the cost was of each such design. [321977]
Mr. Hain: The Wales Office does not have an internal website or intranet. Staff have access to the Ministry of Justice intranet site.
Incinerators: Merthyr Tydfil
Mr. Havard:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change and (b) Welsh Assembly Government Ministers on the effect on the UK Government's waste and sustainability strategy of the proposed construction of a 50MW, open grate,
waste-to-energy incinerator near Merthyr Tydfil fuelled by non-recyclable waste and the likely effect of the importation of such fuel stock by sea to proposed receiving and transfer stations located at Welsh ports. [322323]
Mr. Hain: I have regular discussions with UK and Welsh Assembly Government Ministers on a range of issues including sustainability.
Both UK and Welsh Assembly Governments recognise that recovering energy from waste can play an important part in helping to meet Government commitments to tackle climate change, improve our energy security and create new business and job opportunities. Both Governments also recognise the need to take into account a range of factors when taking decisions on such proposals.
I understand the planning application for the proposed construction of an energy-from-waste incinerator at Merthyr Tydfil is being considered by the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), who consider all applications in England and Wales where a plant has electrical capacity greater than 50MW. It would therefore be inappropriate for me to comment on this development further while it is in planning stages, except to say that the generation of energy from waste is highly desirable compared with depositing waste in landfill which is completely unsustainable
Notice of the application and details of the scoping exercise for the proposed project can be viewed at:
Cabinet Office
Civil Contingencies Emergency College
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office when she last visited the Civil Contingencies Emergency College at Hawkshill, near Easingwold; and if she will make a statement. [321865]
Tessa Jowell: I have not yet visited the Emergency Planning College. The college is currently engaged in a major project within the Government's Operational Efficiency Programme to develop a commercial partnership with Serco in order to allow it to deliver maximum benefit to the resilience of the UK while achieving greater efficiency. In view of the exceptional demands on the college's management team during the transition stage, I do not think the time is right for a ministerial visit at this particular stage.
Departmental Internet
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer of 25 February 2010, Official Report, column 698W, on departmental internet, what the cost was of the website redesign. [321935]
Tessa Jowell: The design referred to in the answer of 25 February 2010, Official Report, column 698W, was provided by in-house resource at no cost.
Mr. Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many designs for its (a) internal website and (b) intranet her Department has commissioned since 2005; and what the cost was of each such design. [321992]
Tessa Jowell: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of Cabinet Office.
The (a) internal website and (b) intranet are classed as the same website for the purpose of this response.
The Department has commissioned one redesign of its intranet home page since 2005. In March 2009 the Cabinet Office replaced its PDF staff newsletter, 'Inside', with an online news service. This work was carried out by an external agency at a cost of £10,245 plus VAT. This spend only relates to the Department's intranet.
No designs have been commissioned for the intranet for No. 10 Downing street since 2005.
Unemployment
John Mason: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of people in (a) Glasgow East constituency and (b) the UK are unemployed. [321879]
Angela E. Smith: The information falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
Letter from Stephen Penneck ,dated March 2010:
As Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many and what proportion of people in (a) Glasgow East constituency and (b) the UK are unemployed. (321879)
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles unemployment statistics in line with International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions for local areas from the Annual Population Survey (APS). However, due to the small sample size, no reasonable estimate is available for Glasgow East.
As an alternative, in table 1, we have provided the number and proportion of persons, of working age, claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA), in January 2010, for (a) Glasgow East constituency and (b) the United Kingdom, from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.
National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment and unemployment are available from the NOMIS website at
| Table 1: Number and proportion of persons, of working age, claiming jobseeker's allowance resident in Glasgow East parliamentary constituency and the United Kingdom | ||||
| Not seasonally adjusted | ||||
| Glasgow East( 1) | United Kingdom( 2) | |||
| Number | Percentage | Number | Percentage | |
| 1. Proportions for constituencies in Scotland, from 2007 onwards, are calculated using the mid-2006 resident working age population. 2. Proportions for regions and countries from 2009 onwards are calculated using the mid-2008 resident working age population. This is different from the headline claimant count figures which are seasonally adjusted and use a denominator based on workforce jobs and claimant count to calculate the claimant count rate. Source: Jobcentre Plus Administrative System | ||||
Work and Pensions
Carbon Monoxide: Poisoning
Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps she plans to take to reduce the incidence of carbon monoxide poisoning. [322248]
Jonathan Shaw: The primary focus of Government work to reduce the incidence of carbon monoxide poisoning is to ensure that consumers use competent engineers to undertake work on their appliances. The Gas Safe Register, established by HSE in 2009, provides consumers with a clear route to find competent engineers and works to promote better public awareness of gas safety risks and the dangers arising from carbon monoxide. Since 1 April 2009 the Gas Safe Register have been undertaking a significant gas safety and carbon monoxide awareness raising campaign aimed at consumers, including national TV and online advertising, coverage on consumer programmes and national and regional radio and newspaper reporting.
There are other complementary Government work streams relating to carbon monoxide, including the Department for Communities and Local Government's recent consultation on amendments to the Building Regulations which proposed the compulsory installation of carbon monoxide alarms when a new or replacement solid fuel appliances are installed, a Health Protection Agency's study to assess the effectiveness of campaigns in increasing the knowledge of CO and Department of Health research into the long term effects of exposure to carbon monoxide.
Additionally, the Cross Government Group on gas safety and CO awareness, which covers all combustion fuels, aims to share knowledge and information and develop effective strategies to improve gas safety and tackle carbon monoxide risks from all fuels.
Departmental Temporary Employment
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which companies were contracted by her Department for the provision of temporary staff in each of the last three years; how many temporary staff were employed by her Department in each such year; and what the monetary value was of contracts with each such company in each such year. [317995]
Jonathan Shaw [holding answer 22 February 2010]: The DWP has a contract with Brook Street for the provision of temporary staff since September 2007; prior to this the service was contracted through Reed Employment plc (full UK coverage) and Hays Specialist Services (London only).
The expenditure and numbers of temporary staff were as follows:
| 2007-08 | 2008-09 | 2009-10 (year to date December) | ||||
| Expenditure (£ million) | Headcount (average) | Expenditure (£ million) | Headcount (average) | Expenditure (£ million) | Headcount (average) | |
| (1) Headcount figures are averaged across the period noted. | ||||||
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |