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6 Apr 2010 : Column 1172W—continued

Public Duty Costs Allowance

John Mason: To ask the Leader of the House (1) how much in public duty costs allowance has been paid to former Prime Ministers in each year since 1991; [311222]


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(2) what the limit is of the public duty costs allowance for former Prime Ministers; and when that limit will next be reviewed; [311223]

(3) what rules apply to claims made by former Prime Ministers from the public duty costs allowance; [311224]

(4) which office administers the public duty costs allowance for former Prime Ministers; and what checks are made to ensure that claims against the allowance meet the criteria for funding from the allowance; [311225]

(5) what guidance is provided to former Prime Ministers on claiming from the public duty costs allowance; and if she will place a copy of that guidance in the Library. [311226]

Tessa Jowell: I have been asked to reply.

The public duties cost allowance, which is administered by the Cabinet Office, is paid in respect of office and secretarial expenses incurred by former Prime Ministers in connection with their public duties. All claims must be supported by documentary evidence. The allowance is not payable if the former Prime Minister is occupying the position of Leader of the Opposition. The allowance is linked to the ceiling of the centralised arrangements for payment of staff and secretarial support for MPs with London constituencies.

Information on payments before the 1997-98 financial year is obtainable only at disproportionate cost. The total amount reimbursed each year, on a cash basis, on the public duties costs allowance is:

Maximum allowance which can be claimed by each former Prime Minister (£) Total claimed by former Prime Ministers (£)

1997-98

47,568

171,827

1998-99

49,232

175,402

1999-2000

50,264

171,984

2000-01

51,572

167,955

2001-02

52,760

186,922

2002-03

72,310

278,615

2003-04

74,985

235,809

2004-05

77,534

274,794

2005-06

84,081

294,546

2006-07

87,276

244,638

2007-08

90,505

174,551

2008-09

100,205

190,888


Northern Ireland

Administration of Justice

Mr. Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what review mechanisms have been put in place for future spending on the criminal justice system in Northern Ireland following the recent criminal justice inspection report. [325028]

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office already has processes to review expenditure on consultants across the Department and its arm's length bodies.

The use of external consultants and professional services is reported in the annual departmental report which is laid in Parliament.


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Departmental Energy

Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) voltage optimisers and (b) equivalent technologies are used within buildings occupied by his Department. [324971]

Paul Goggins: Voltage optimisers or equivalent technologies are not used within buildings occupied by the Department.

Departmental Furniture

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department has spent on antique furniture in each of the last five years; and what items were purchased. [325114]

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), including its arm's length bodies and the Public Prosecution Service Northern Ireland but excluding its agencies and NDPBs, has incurred no expenditure on antique furniture in the last five years.

Departmental ICT

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which ICT projects initiated by his Department were cancelled before completion in each year since 1997; what costs were incurred on each of those projects; who the contractors were of each of those projects; what the date of (a) commencement and (b) cancellation was of each of those projects; and if he will make a statement. [325472]

Paul Goggins: There has been one ICT project cancelled by the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) before completion since 1997. The Product Logging ICT Project was cancelled by the Forensic Science Agency at a cost of £8,500. The contractors were ICS Computing. The project commenced in June 2006 and was abandoned in November 2006.

Departmental Information Officers

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost to his Department was of employing press and media officers in the last 12 months for which figures are available; and what the cost to his Department was of employing such staff in the financial year 1996-97, expressed in real terms. [324799]

Paul Goggins: The total cost to the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) of employing press officers during 2008-09 was £579,343. No figures are available for the 1996-97 financial year.

Departmental Internet

Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many complaints his Department received regarding difficulties using its website in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [325192]


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Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has received no complaints regarding difficulties using the website.

Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on external website design consultants in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [325210]

Paul Goggins: A review of my Department's website was conducted during the 2006-07 financial year to optimise the site and improve performance and download speeds. This review cost £15,677.

Inquiries

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (1) which legal firms have worked (a) for and (b) with the Historical Enquiries Team; and how many hours of work each such legal firm had undertaken on the latest date for which figures are available; [325475]

(2) what his most recent estimate is of the final cost to the public purse of the Historical Enquiries Team; [325477]

(3) when he expects the Historical Enquiries Team to have completed its work; [325479]

(4) how much the Historical Enquiries Team had spent on legal fees on the latest date for which figures are available; [325480]

(5) how many people the Historical Enquiries Team has employed in each type of post in each month since its inception; [325481]

(6) how many cases the Historical Enquiries Team has closed; [325483]

(7) what mechanisms the Historical Enquiries Team uses to measure its effectiveness; [325484]

(8) in respect of how many cases which the Historical Enquiries Team has declared closed, families of those whose deaths were under investigation have subsequently requested more information; [325485]

(9) how many and what proportion of cases within its remit the Historical Enquiries Team has examined since its inception; [325486]

(10) how much the Historical Enquiries Team has spent on security (a) for legal companies, (b) for witnesses and (c) in total since its inception; [325487]

(11) how much the Historical Enquiries Team has spent on (a) accommodation and (b) advertising since its inception; [325488]

(12) how many cases the Historical Enquiries Team has completed to the satisfaction of the families of those whose deaths were under investigation; [325489]

(13) how much the Historical Enquiries Team has spent on IT since its inception; [325520]

(14) how much the Historical Enquiries Team has spent on IT consultants since its inception; [325521]

(15) what the budget is of the press office for the Historical Enquiries Team in (a) 2009-10 and (b) 2010-11; [325522]

(16) what the cost to the public purse had been of the Historical Enquiries Team on the latest date for which figures are available. [325478]


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Paul Goggins: The Historical Enquiries Team is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and copies of his letters will be placed in the Library of the House.

Prisons: Mental Health Services

Mr. Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much was spent on mental health services for prisoners in each (a) prison and (b) health authority area in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years; and how many prisoners received such treatment in each such year. [325426]

Paul Goggins: Matters relating to all aspects of prisoners' health care in Northern Ireland are the responsibility of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, which falls within the remit of the devolved Northern Ireland Administration.

Justice

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many new criminal offences relating to the purchase, production, sale or misuse of alcohol have been enacted in each year since 1998. [321162]

Mr. Alan Campbell: I have been asked to reply.

The following Acts, which received Royal Assent between 1 May 1997 and 1 January 2010 and for which the Home Secretary has policy responsibility and contained references to the purchase, production, sale or misuse of alcohol are listed as follows:

A total of nine new offences relating to the purchase, production, sale or misuse of alcohol are included within the Acts above. The new offences are listed as follows:

Cemeteries

Mr. Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance his Department provides to local authorities on (a) communal graves and (b) burial arrangements for paupers. [325321]


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Bridget Prentice: Our current guidance reminds burial ground managers not to discriminate in the way common graves are provided in cemeteries and encourages them to be treated with as much sensitivity and respect as any other graves.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the five most expensive hospitality events hosted by his Department and its agencies were in the last three years; and what (a) the cost and (b) purpose was of each. [324659]

Mr. Straw: The provision and offering of hospitality is governed by the Department's internal hospitality policy, which is consistent with the principles of Managing Public Money and the HM Treasury handbook on Regularity, Propriety and Value for Money at:

The guiding principle of the Department's internal policy is that gifts and hospitality must only be provided or accepted in exceptional circumstances where they:

For example:

Attendance at, and hosting of, hospitality events by Department and agency staff is recorded in local hospitality registers, in accordance with Ministry of Justice policy. These data are not collated centrally, and gathering information from local registers (including operational establishments) would be possible only at disproportionate cost.

Therefore, a list of the five most expensive events during the last three years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

However, at the start of the legal year the Lord Chancellor hosts a breakfast after a service at Westminster Abbey. This event is attended by senior judiciary from the UK and overseas and this event is likely to be one of the higher value events hosted by the Ministry of Justice. The expenditure for the past three years is as follows:

Accounting year £

2009-10

29,953

2008-09

50,391

2007-08

29,952


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