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30 Mar 2010 : Column 888W—continued
Pet Travel Scheme
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will bring forward proposals to extend the number of species covered by the pet travel scheme. [324738]
Jim Fitzpatrick: There are no plans at present to extend the requirements of the pet travel scheme to other species.
Rural Payments Agency: Telephone Services
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how long on average it took Rural Payments Agency call centres to (a) answer and (b) complete a call from a member of the public in the latest period for which figures are available; and what percentage of calls made to call centres were dropped in that period. [323524]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Rural Payments Agency's customer service centre (CSC) received 41,346 calls in February 2010 and the average speed to answer each call was 25 seconds with the average length of each call being 10 minutes and five seconds.
During this period 9.3 per cent. of calls were abandoned when the CSC was either unable to answer the call before the customer rang off or the call was answered but the customer then ended the call prematurely.
Sewers
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects to bring forward regulations for the transfer of responsibility of private drains and sewers to water companies. [324234]
Huw Irranca-Davies: We have previously made clear our intention to consult on proposals for regulations to implement the transfer of private sewers before the summer, setting out the detailed arrangements for transfer. I am pleased to say that we will be able to bring forward proposals for consultation on the regulations by the end of May.
Waste and Resources Action Programme
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what organisations supplied goods and services to the Waste and Resources Action Programme in the last 12 months; and what the address is of each supplier. [324572]
Dan Norris: The Waste and Resources Action Programme's (WRAP's) suppliers are numerous, and range from companies receiving capital support greater than £1 million to providers of low value office supplies. A list of the 116 companies that have provided services worth in excess of £100,000 in the last 12 months has been placed in the Library of the House.
Waste Disposal: Fees and Charges
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will place in the Library a copy of each document submitted by Bristol city council as part of its application to become a waste incentive pilot. [324571]
Dan Norris: A copy of Bristol city council's proposal for a waste incentives scheme has been placed in the House Library.
Water Charges: Housing
Mrs. Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many and what proportion of dwellings have their water charges based on domestic rateable values. [324527]
Huw Irranca-Davies: The latest figures show that 13.58 million, or 61.2 per cent. of domestic properties that are supplied by a water company in England and Wales have their water bills calculated using rateable value.
Zoos: Standards
Paul Holmes:
To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to ensure that zoos operate to
standards consistent with (a) his Department's guidance, Standards of Modern Zoo Practice and (b) the provisions of the Zoo Licensing Act 1981. [325254]
Jim Fitzpatrick: The Zoo Licensing Act 1981 places responsibility for the inspection and licensing of zoos with local authorities. The Act provides local authorities with all the powers they require to ensure that zoos operate to standards consistent with the Secretary of State's Standards of Modern Zoo Practice. On behalf of the Secretary of State, DEFRA takes responsibility for ensuring these standards are set and improved on where necessary.
The Secretary of State has a list of inspectors which he can call on to inspect zoos' compliance with the standards; the list includes veterinary practitioners and persons who are competent to inspect animals in zoos, advise on their welfare and advise on general zoo management issues.
Ministers have written to all local authorities reminding them of their licensing responsibilities, and DEFRA ensures biennial training seminars for zoos, local authorities and zoo inspectors are held to make them aware of their responsibilities. DEFRA holds a zoos database and reminds local authorities annually about forthcoming zoo inspections.
Cabinet Office
Departmental Buildings
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much her Department spent on interior design in relation to office refurbishments undertaken in each of the last five years. [324669]
Angela E. Smith: This information can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Freedom of Information
Mr. Gordon Prentice: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many times her Department has appealed against a decision notice from the Information Commissioner since 2005. [316060]
Tessa Jowell: Details of appeals to the Information Tribunal are available on the Tribunal's website:
Departmental Marketing
Mr. Syms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office pursuant to the answer to my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip Northwood (Mr. Hurd) of 5 January 2010, Official Report, column 103W, on departmental marketing, how much (a) the Cabinet Office and (b) the Central Office of Information have spent on advertising, marketing, public relations and publicity to the (i) Real Help Now and (ii) Building Britain's Future themed campaigns to date. [320493]
Tessa Jowell: With regard to expenditure by the Cabinet Office on Real Help Now and Building Britain's Future, I refer the hon. Member to my answer given to the hon. Member for Ruislip-Northwood (Mr. Hurd) on 5 January 2010, Official Report, columns 103-104W.
I have asked the chief executive of the COI to reply to the hon. Member.
Departmental Waste
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what volume of waste was generated by Number 10 Downing Street in each of the last three years; what percentage of this was (a) paper, (b) plastic, (c) glass, (d) metal, (e) electrical goods and batteries and (f) food waste; and what percentage of that waste was (i) disposed of securely, (ii) disposed of in landfill and (iii) recycled. [311838]
Angela E. Smith: The Prime Minister's Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.
Information on the Cabinet Office's Waste and Recycling performance can be found in the Cabinet Office Annual Report and Accounts, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library.
Government Communications
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what best practice guidance the Government Communications Network has published in the last 24 months. [323451]
Tessa Jowell: The Government Communications Network (GCN) does not publish formal guidance. Communications best practice material is available on the GCN website and is updated on a regular basis by GCN members using community tools (wiki and forums). This detailed information could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.
Government Departments: Training
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many staff from each Government Department and agency have attended courses at the National School of Government entitled (a) Managing your Confidence, (b) Influencing with Integrity, (c) Emotional Intelligence, (d) Mind Mapping, (e) Stress Management and (f) Managing Diversity in the last 12 months; and at what cost. [325119]
Tessa Jowell: This is a matter for the National School of Government. I have asked the principal and chief executive to assist by writing to you. The letter will be placed in the Libraries of the House.
Iraq Committee of Inquiry
Lembit Öpik: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if she will (a) make available to the Iraq Inquiry and (b) place in the Library a copy of all advice from the Attorney-General to the Ministry of Defence prior to the beginning of the Iraq war that defines the individual criminal liability of military personnel under UK law; and if she will make a statement. [318458]
Tessa Jowell: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by the Secretary of State for Defence on 25 February 2010, Official Report, column 677W.
Job Creation: Coventry
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many jobs have been created in Coventry since 2005. [325084]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested 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 recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many jobs have been created in Coventry since 2005. (325084).
The requested information is not available. The ONS does not produce statistics on the number of jobs created.
Lobbying
Grant Shapps: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what timetable the Government has set for introducing a statutory register of lobbyists; and whether an impact assessment has been produced. [324824]
Angela E. Smith: The Government have committed to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists. They plan to consult on their proposals as soon as possible.
Newspaper Licensing Agency
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what payments her Department has made to the Newspaper Licensing Agency in each of the last 10 years. [323588]
Angela E. Smith: The Cabinet Office has made the following payments to the Newspaper Licensing Agency in the last 10 years:
| Payment to the Newspaper Licensing Agency (£) | |
The increase in costs from 2007-08 and 2008-09 is due to additional services such as scanning provided by the Newspaper Licensing Agency and a further licence purchased in 2008-09 for press cuttings.
VAT: North West
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many small and medium-sized enterprises were registered for value added tax in (a) Stockport metropolitan borough, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) the North West in 2009. [325043]
Angela E. Smith: The information requested 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 recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many small and medium-sized enterprises were registered for value added tax in (a) Stockport Metropolitan Borough, (b) Greater Manchester and (c) the North West in 2009. [325043]
Annual statistics on counts of VAT and/or PAYE based enterprises are available for 2009 from the ONS release UK Business: Activity, Size and Location at:
The table below is a subset of this, containing just VAT based enterprise statistics.
| Count of VAT-based enterprises by geography and employment size band | ||||
| Employment size band | ||||
| 0 to 49 (small) | 50 to 249 (medium) | 250 + (large) | Total | |
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