Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Scotland
Devolution
11. Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent devolution issues the Advocate-General has considered; and if he will make a statement. [1845]
David Mundell: Since the reporting year began on l April the Advocate General and his predecessor have received 143 devolution notices, 136 of which are in criminal cases and seven in civil cases. In the same period the Advocate General has continued monitoring more than 40 devolution cases, has been represented in court in three, and is currently involved as intervenor in two cases.
In addition to his work on devolution issues as defined in the Scotland Act, the Advocate General works closely with the Attorney General to advise Government Departments on a wide range of legal matters.
13. Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on the devolution settlement. [1847]
Michael Moore: I had my first meeting with the First Minister on 7 June, followed by a Joint Ministerial Committee on 8 June. The First Minister and I discussed a range of issues relating to the devolution settlement, including our proposals to implement recommendations from the final report of the Commission on Scottish Devolution.
General Election
12. Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the First Minister on the Government's plans to schedule a general election on the first Thursday of May 2015. [1846]
Michael Moore: The issue of the planned 2015 general election was raised at the Joint Ministerial Committee on 8 June, which I attended with the First Minister.
Scotland Office
14. Sandra Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans he has for the future of the Scotland Office. [1848]
Michael Moore:
The Scotland Office will take forward the Coalition Government's commitment to implement the recommendations of the Calman Commission. It will also play a central role in the Coalition Government's constructive engagement with our partners in the Devolved
Administrations. The Scotland Office will continue to ensure that Scotland's interests are understood and represented in Westminster and Whitehall, and it will ensure that the Government's policies in reserved areas are understood in Scotland.
Royal Mail
15. Mr Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has had with the Royal Mail on mail deliveries and post offices in Scotland. [1849]
Michael Moore: We will ensure that post offices are allowed to offer a wide range of services in order to sustain the network, and we will be working with Post Office Ltd. to develop new sources of revenue, including considering the case for a Post Office Bank.
Departmental Internet
Mr Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the URL is of each website managed by his Department. [2373]
David Mundell: The Scotland Office manages one website. The URL for the Scotland Office website is:
Departmental Official Cars
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his policy is on the use by Ministers in his Department of cars allocated from (a) his Department's pool and (b) the Government car pool which are manufactured in the UK; whether Ministers in his Department are entitled to request the use of a car manufactured in the UK; and if he will make a statement. [2422]
David Mundell: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to him on Monday 14 June 2010, Official Report, column 290W.
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street: Visits
John Mann: To ask the Prime Minister how many requests by hon. Members from each party for their constituents to be given a tour of No. 10 Downing Street have been (a) made and (b) granted since the Government came into office. [2689]
The Prime Minister: I hope that as many people as possible will be able to have a tour of 10 Downing street, including children and individuals from a wide cross-section of the community.
Andy Coulson and Jonny Oates
Mr Watson: To ask the Prime Minister to what (a) expenses, (b) allowances and (c) pension provision his Director of Communications is entitled. [2651]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 10 June 2010, Official Report, column 32WS.
Mr Watson: To ask the Prime Minister whether (a) Andy Coulson and (b) Jonny Oates (i) have been subject to positive vetting and (ii) will have access to situation reports from military commanders. [2306]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 10 June 2010, Official Report, column 32WS and my answer of 3 June 2010, Official Report, column 99W.
Northern Ireland
Departmental Manpower
Stewart Hosie: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many (a) special advisers and (b) press officers are employed by his Department; and at what civil service pay grade in each such case. [1287]
Mr Paterson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given by the Prime Minister on 10 June 2010, Official Report, columns 32-34W. The Northern Ireland Office (NIO) employs one special adviser at pay band 2 (special advisers are not subject to civil service pay grades).
My Department also employs three press officers; one senior civil servant, one at B1 grade and one at B2 grade.
House of Commons Commission
Early Day Motions
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission what the cost of administering and processing early day motions was in the latest period for which figures are available. [2311]
Sir Stuart Bell: The estimated cost to the House of administering and processing early day motions (EDMs) in financial year 2009-10 was approximately £1 million.
Most of this cost was accounted for by printing and publication of early day motions, amendments to them, and names added to them, under the House's contract with TSO. This cost nearly £776,000 in 2009-10.
Expenditure is incurred on staff time to process and input notices relating to early day motions, and to index that material. Staff who deal with EDMs also undertake other duties, but a rough estimate of the full salary costs incurred from the estimated amount of their time spent on EDMs, including employer's pension contribution and national insurance, is of the order of £150,000 for 2009-10.
In addition, technical support for the EDMi database and the Table Office's software application for processing EDMs cost approximately £87,000 in 2009-10.
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission how many early day motions had (a) between one and five, (b) between six and 10, (c) between 11 and 50, (d) between 51 and 100 and (e) over 100 signatures at the end of each of the last five parliamentary sessions. [2444]
Sir Stuart Bell: The figures are as follows:
| Number of signatories | ||||||
| Session | 1 to 5 | 6 to 10 | 11 to 50 | 51 to 100 | Over 100 | Total number of EDMs |
Session 2005-06 was a long session following a general election; Session 2009-10 was a short session preceding a general election.
Early day motions are classified in the table above by the number of signatures which they had on their last day as valid motions: in nearly all cases this will be the number of signatures which they had on the last day of each session, but for those motions withdrawn or debated in the course of each session the number of signatures given is the number on the last day on which the motion had the status of an early day motion.
For some sessions the figure for the total number of motions differs from the figure given in the House's sessional returns: this is because the sessional returns figures include motions tabled and then withdrawn in the course of the same sitting day. Such motions are assigned an early day motion number which is not re-used, but do not appear in print as valid notices of motions.
Mr Iain Wright: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the House of Commons Commission how many early day motions were tabled in each parliamentary session since 2000-01. [2445]
Sir Stuart Bell: The total number of early day motions (EDMs) tabled each session is published in the House's sessional returns, available at:
For some sessions the totals given include one or two EDMs which were tabled and withdrawn on the same sitting day, and so were given an EDM number but never appeared in print.
The figures for each session since 2000-01, together with the average number tabled per sitting day to enable comparisons to be made between sessions of differing lengths, are as follows:
| Total | Ave rage per sitting day | |
Sessions 2000-01, 2004-05 and 2009-10 were short pre-general election sessions; Sessions 2001-02 and 2005-06 were long post-general election sessions.
International Development
Afghanistan: Corruption
Paul Flynn: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent progress has been made in reducing levels of corruption in Afghanistan. [2005]
Mr Andrew Mitchell: In 'The Coalition: our programme for government', the UK Government laid out our commitment to "support efforts to tackle corruption".
At the London Conference in January the Government of Afghanistan made a number of key commitments to address corruption. Since the London Conference a number of these commitments have already been delivered by the Government of Afghanistan, including increased powers and independence for an Afghan anti-corruption commission (the High Office of Oversight (HOO)) and the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Tribunal.
In addition the Government of Afghanistan has begun compiling asset declarations of Government Ministers and officials. Thus far assets belonging to 18 previous Cabinet Ministers and over 1,200 public officials have been registered. A significant reduction in the number of procedures required to register a vehicle from 51 to four has also been implemented, which reduces the scope and opportunity for corruption.
Through UK support to the EU Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL) we are mentoring and supporting the Ministry of Interior Inspector General in 28 alleged anti-corruption cases involving approximately 118 suspects.
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