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9 Jun 2010 : Column 181W—continued
Met Office
Phil Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how much his Department spent on (a) rail, (b) road and (c) air travel by staff of the Met Office in the last 12 months; [1052]
(2) how much his Department spent on air travel of each class for Met Office staff in the last 12 months. [1054]
Mr Robathan: The Met Office is a global provider of weather and climate services with customers located across the UK and overseas. It provides vital operational support to the armed forces, as well as to emergency responders during periods of severe weather and other environmental incidents. As the UK's National Meteorological Service, the Met Office also has a number of international obligations placed upon it by the World Meteorological Organization.
In meeting the needs of its customers during 2009-10, the Met Office spent £463,662, £786,539 and £692,838 on rail, road and air travel respectively. Of that spent on air travel, details held centrally show that £593,879 was for economy class, £59,031 for business class and £315 for first-class travel. Where first-class was flown, this was the only option available. Details of other flights are not held centrally, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of the Met Office; and if he will make a statement. [1057]
Mr Robathan: Defence activity is being reviewed in the context of the strategic defence and security review and the spending review. It would be premature to speculate about any impact on the Met Office at this stage.
Met Office and United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff at the (a) Met Office and (b) Hydrographic Office earn more than £100,000. [1041]
Mr Robathan: Details of the remuneration of the Met Office's and United Kingdom Hydrographic Office's Executive Directors are published in their annual report and accounts. These show that in 2008-09, three members of the UKHO Executive and four members of the Met Office Executive were paid more than £100,000. Outside of the Executive, no staff are paid more than £100,000.
Grahame M. Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the remuneration and benefit arrangements are of the non-executive directors of the (a) Met Office and (b) Hydrographic Office. [1042]
Mr Robathan: Details of the remuneration and benefits for the non-executive directors of the Met Office and UK Hydrographic Office are published annually in the respective Trading Fund annual report and accounts.
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on hotel accommodation for staff of the (a) Met Office and (b) Hydrographic Office in the last 12 months. [1051]
Mr Robathan: During the financial year 2009-10 the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office spent £550,000 on hotel accommodation and the Met Office £560,000.
Phil Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many staff at the (a) Met Office and (b) Hydrographic Office are entitled to use official cars. [1053]
Mr Robathan: No one at the Met Office is automatically entitled to use an official car. However the Met Office has 10 pool cars which are available for use by any member of staff, when necessary, in order to minimise transport costs.
The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office has one pool car which is available for use by the 15 members of the Executive Committee and main board; and by others at the discretion of the chief executive. Overseas visitors also make use of this facility when available in order to minimise transport costs.
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the remuneration and benefits arrangements are of the chief executive of the (a) Met Office and (b) Hydrographic Office; and if he will make a statement. [1055]
Mr Robathan: Details around the remuneration and benefits for the chief executives of the Met Office and UK Hydrographic Office are published annually in the respective agency annual report and accounts.
Military Aircraft: Procurement
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what aircraft will replace the Nimrod R1. [1462]
Peter Luff: On 22 March 2010 the Ministry of Defence made an announcement that the Nimrod R1 would be replaced by US Air Force Rivet Joint RC-135 aircraft and associated ground systems. Following the new Government's announcement to audit all spending decisions taken since 1 January this year, this decision is currently under review. Furthermore, as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review work has been set in hand to review all major equipment and support contracts to ensure the future programme is coherent with future defence needs and can be afforded.
Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with the US Administration on the purchase of the RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft. [1463]
Peter Luff: I have not met the US Administration to discuss the purchase of the Rivet Joint system. However, officials of both countries are in regular communication.
United Kingdom Hydrographic Office
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on air travel of each class by staff at the Hydrographic Office. [1038]
Mr Robathan: Air costs information is not collected by class of travel; an analysis by class cannot therefore be provided without incurring disproportionate cost. However, current United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) policy requires the use of economy class unless approved by the chief executive. During the period 1 June 2009 to 31 May 2010, a total of £807,300 was expended on air travel reflecting the international focus of UKHO business activity.
Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on (a) rail, (b) road and (c) air travel by staff of the Hydrographic Office in the last 12 months. [1043]
Mr Robathan: Expenditure during the period 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 was:
| Transport type | Cost (£000) |
Road travel covers mileage payments made for the use of private vehicles on official business, car hire and taxis.
Mr Watts: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the future of the Hydrographic Office; and if he will make a statement. [1056]
Mr Robathan: A review of the arrangements for delivering charting and navigational services by the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office was initiated earlier this year. This work will be aligned with the Strategic Defence and Security Review. It would be premature to speculate about the outcome of the review at this stage.
Deputy Prime Minister
Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority
Mr Winnick: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister (1) what senior posts, at what salary bands, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has advertised in the last two months; [1309]
(2) what the annual salary of the Chief Executive of IPSA is; and to what other remuneration he is entitled; [1325]
(3) what information he has received from IPSA on (a) the number of days each week the Chair is contracted to the Authority, (b) the functions the Chair undertakes, (c) the (i) salary he receives and (ii) other remuneration he is eligible for; and whether (1) he and (2) Ministerial colleagues have discussed with the Chair of the IPSA the administrative mechanisms for processing claims of hon. Members; [1402]
(4) what information he has received from IPSA on (a) the number of staff it employs, (b) the number of its staff paid salaries of over £40,000 annually and (c) the number of staff eligible for bonus payments; [1403]
(5) what discussions he has had with the Chair of IPSA on the (a) arrangements and (b) venue for hon. Members to meet senior officers of the Authority to seek advice; and how many requests the Authority has received from hon. Members for such meetings; [1404]
(6) what discussions he has had with the Chair of IPSA on the Authority's policy on publishing on its website the details of each claim authorised for payment to hon. Members immediately upon approval. [1405]
Mr Harper: Questions about the internal workings of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority are a matter for the Authority itself. The Deputy Prime Minister has policy responsibility for IPSA.
Young People
John Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will bring forward proposals to encourage the engagement of young people in the political process. [1352]
Mr Harper: The Government believe that many of the proposals in its constitutional and political reform agenda will help to encourage involvement by young people in our democracy.
The Electoral Commission has a statutory responsibility to run public awareness campaigns to promote voter registration and to provide information on electoral events. In pursuit of this, the Electoral Commission recently ran public awareness campaigns in the lead up to the general election to encourage people to register to vote. The campaign was targeted at groups less likely to be on the electoral register, particularly 18 to 24-year-olds and led to more than half a million electoral registration forms being downloaded from the Commission's website.
The campaign included work on social networking websites as well as advertising on television, radio and in the press. The Electoral Commission has also funded other organisations working to increase democratic participation among young people, through its partnership grants programme. These organisations include Barnardos, the Prince's Trust and UK Youth Parliament.
Cabinet Office
Non-departmental Public Bodies
14. Brandon Lewis: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what mechanisms he plans to use to review the effectiveness of non-departmental public bodies. [1355]
Mr Maude: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave earlier today.
Admiralty Arch
Mr Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he plans to derive revenue for the public purse from the apartments in Admiralty Arch held by the Government. [622]
Mr Maude: There are no apartments in Admiralty Arch as this is only an office building.
Departmental Catering
Mr Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office if he will place in the Library a copy of the menus for the canteen in 10 Downing Street for the week of 17 May 2010. [573]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office total facilities management provider contracted by the previous Government supplies food for catering facilities across the Cabinet Office estate. A copy of the Cabinet Office menu for the week beginning 17 May 2010 has been placed in the House Library.
Departmental Electronic Equipment
Mr Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many (a) plasma and (b) LCD televisions there are in ministerial offices in his Department. [382]
Mr Maude: There are three LCD televisions in ministerial offices in the Cabinet Office. These were all purchased before the current Government took office.
Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers
Helen Goodman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many special advisers (a) he and (b) each other Minister assigned to responsibilities in his Department (i) has appointed to date and (ii) plans to appoint. [327]
Mr Maude: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 3 June 2010, Official Report, column 99W.
Departmental Responsibilities
Mr Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what plans he has for the future of the (a) Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, (b) National School of Government and (c) Central Office of Information; and if he will make a statement. [18]
Mr Maude: I have no current plans.
Government Departments: Recruitment
Mr Watson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what steps he is taking to reduce Government expenditure on recruitment advertising. [26]
Mr Maude: The Government are committed to reducing expenditure on recruitment advertising across the Civil Service. We have implemented a recruitment freeze across the Civil Service, which tightly restricts external recruitment to the Fast Stream, business critical posts and other frontline posts that should save up to £145 million for 2010-11. We have also implemented restrictions on marketing and advertising spend, which includes recruitment campaigns, and are expected to deliver savings in the region of £160 million in 2010-11. These restrictions will take effect immediately across all government departments, agencies and NDPBs.
Ministerial Policy Advisers
Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office (1) how many special advisers of each nationality are employed by Government departments; [1369]
(2) how many non-UK citizens are employed as special advisers by Government departments; [1370]
(3) what advice his Department issues to other Government department's on the employment of non-UK citizens as special advisers. [1371]
Mr Maude: The numbers of special advisers by each nationality, including non-UK citizens, employed as special advisers by Government departments is not held centrally.
Special Advisers as temporary civil servants are bound by the civil service nationality rules. A copy of the rules can be accessed at
Treasury
Banks
Christopher Leslie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to establish an independent commission on the separation of retail and investment banking; what discussions he has had with potential commissioners on that matter; and if he will make a statement. [1076]
Mr Hoban: The independent banking commission will be established under the auspices of, and will report its findings to, the Cabinet Banking Reform Committee. It will be established as quickly as practically possible. The Government will make further announcements in due course.
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