Passive Smoking: Children
Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to evaluate the effectiveness in changing behaviour of his national strategy to raise awareness amongst parents of the dangers of smoking around children in family cars. [77523]
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Caroline Nokes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to evaluate the effectiveness in changing behaviour of his national strategy to raise awareness amongst parents of the dangers of smoking around children in family cars. [78146]
Anne Milton: As set out in the Tobacco Control Plan for England, the Department will launch a marketing campaign to remind smokers of the harms of second-hand smoke and to encourage them to make their homes and cars smokefree. This campaign is in the early stages of development and is expected to launch in March 2012.
The tobacco marketing strategy, to be published shortly, will set out further details of how we will support efforts by local areas to encourage smokefree homes and cars ahead of the smokefree campaign. As with all Government communication and marketing campaigns, plans will be developed to evaluate its impact.
Primary Care Trusts
Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to publish the results of his Department's study on standardising primary care support services. [77391]
Mr Simon Burns: There is no departmental study on standardising primary care support services.
However, subject to the passage of legislation, the commissioning of primary care services will be the responsibility of the NHS Commissioning Board from April 2013 and, as such, work is on-going to develop options on how the related functions could be discharged.
One aspect of this work is the development of proposals for the discharge of primary care support functions. It is the intention to publish the outcomes of the development work in due course.
Primary Care Trusts: South-west England
Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what visits South West Strategic Health Authority staff have made to primary care support service offices in (a) Exeter and (b) the south-west for the purposes of assessing the quality and efficiency of their work. [77386]
Mr Simon Burns: This is a matter for the national health service locally. However, the South of England Strategic Health Authority (SHA) (formerly know as South West SHA) has advised that none of its staff have visited primary care support service offices to assess the quality and efficiency of their work as this is already managed and assessed by primary care trusts locally, which will already have the necessary information and assurance.
While the SHA has facilitated regional discussions, all decisions will be made locally by primary care trust boards.
Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what communication there has been between the commercial department of his Department and primary care trusts in the south-west on the bid by NHS Shared Business Service to operate primary care support services; and if he will publish it; [77244]
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(2) what role (a) his Department, (b) strategic health authorities and (c) primary care trust boards will have in taking the final decisions on the contract for primary care support services in the south-west; [77245]
(3) what representations he has received from GPs and other primary care professionals on the future of primary care support services in the south-west; [77246]
(4) what assessment he has made of the performance of NHS Shared Business Services in supporting NHS primary care; [77248]
(5) what assessment he has made of the bid from NHS Shared Business Services to operate primary care support services in the South West strategic health authority region; [77251]
(6) what assessment he has made of the performance of in-house primary care support services in the South West strategic health authority region; [77252]
(7) what comparative assessment he has made of the performance of Devon primary care support services relative to other such services in England; [77253]
(8) what account has been taken of potential redundancy costs in considering the bid by NHS Shared Business Services to operate primary care support services in the south-west; [77387]
(9) how many jobs would be transferred to India under the proposal by NHS Shared Business Services to operate primary care support services in the south-west; [77388]
(10) what consideration he gives to potential economic and social effects of job losses and outsourcing when considering the cost-benefit analysis of contracting primary care support services; [77389]
(11) which body would be responsible for providing the services provided by the existing primary care support services in the south-west which are not included in the draft contract with NHS Shared Business Services. [77390]
Mr Simon Burns: The Department has not undertaken a separate assessment of the performance of in-house primary care support services in the South West strategic health authority (SHA) region.
A letter was issued from the commercial director of the Department of Health to commissioners in Wiltshire primary care trust (PCT), Bristol PCT, Gloucestershire PCT, Devon PCT, Somerset PCT, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly PCT and Dorset PCT. A copy of the letter has been placed in the Library and is available on the Department's website at:
www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/Dearcolleagueletters/DH_102394
In addition, a letter was issued from the commercial director to Jeff James, chief executive of NHS Wiltshire, on 3 August 2011 and a copy of the letter has been placed in the Library.
SHAs are required to submit contracts for primary care support services in the south-west for approval by the Department where there is a capital expenditure in excess of £35 million. Equivalent arrangements between PCTs and SHAs will be for local determination.
A search of the Department's ministerial correspondence database has identified one item of correspondence from general practitioners and other primary care
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professionals received since 1 January 2011 about the future of primary care support services in the south-west. This figure represents correspondence received by the Department's central correspondence team.
A separate assessment has not been carried out by the Department on the performance of NHS Shared Business Services (SBS) in supporting national health service primary care. However, as shareholder in NHS SBS the Department requires NHS SBS to undertake annual benchmarking of performance to all NHS customers.
The Department has not undertaken a separate assessment of the bid from NHS SBS to operate primary care support services in the South West SHA region.
The Department has not undertaken a separate assessment of the performance of in-house primary care support services in the South West SHA authority region.
Information on potential redundancy costs in considering the bid by NHS SBS to operate primary care support services in the south-west is not held centrally.
Information on the number of jobs that may be transferred to India under the proposal by NHS SBS to operate primary care support services in the south-west is not held centrally.
The Department has not done a cost-benefit analysis of contracting primary care support services, because local NHS organisations are responsible for decisions on the arrangements for these services.
It is the responsibility of local NHS organisations in the south-west to determine which local bodies are responsible for the delivery of support services.
South West Strategic Health Authority: India
Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent visits staff of the South West Strategic Health Authority have made to India; and what the purpose was of each visit. [77254]
Mr Simon Burns: We have been advised by the South West Strategic Health Authority (SHA) that Bill Shields, Director of Finance for South West SHA, visited the NHS Shared Business Services (SBS) offshore operations in India for the period 6 to 9 April 2010. The visit was an opportunity to gain assurance around NHS SBS offshore security and data handling arrangements. The SHA has further advised that the cost of the trip was borne by SBS. We understand that the above information is already in the public domain.
Surgery: Tees Valley
Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many planned operations have been cancelled by hospitals in Teesside in the last 12 months. [77258]
Mr Simon Burns: Information is not centrally held in the format requested. Data on the number of elective operations cancelled at the last minute for non-clinical reasons between quarter two, 2010-11 and quarter one, 2011-12 for acute national health service trusts in Teesside are shown in the following table.
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| 2010-11 | 2011-12 | |||
| Organisation name | Quarter 2 | Quarter 3 | Quarter 4 | Quarter 1 |
| Source: Department of Health dataset QMCO | ||||
Waiting Lists: Ashton-under-Lyne
David Heyes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people waited over six months for NHS treatment in Ashton-under-Lyne constituency in each year since 1997. [77393]
Mr Simon Burns: Information on the number of patients waiting over six months for in-patient admission at the primary care trusts (PCTs) and heath authorities (HAs) covering the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency from March 1997 to March 2010 is shown in the following table.
| Number of patients still waiting over six months at month end | |||
| As at March each year | Oldham PCT | Tameside and Glossop PCT | West Pennine HA |
| Notes: 1. Since 2006, figures reflect number of patients waiting over 26 weeks. 2. Data on in-patient waiting lists not collected after March 2010. 3. Due to boundary changes in 2006 West Pennine HA became Oldham PCT and Tameside and Glossop PCT Source: Department of Health KH07, monthly monitoring return. | |||
Information on the number of patients waiting over six months for first out-patient appointment following general practitioner referral at the PCTs and HAs covering the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency from March 1997 to March 2010 is shown in the following table.
| Number of patients still waiting over 26 weeks at month end | |||
| Month ending | Oldham PCT | Tameside and Glossop PCT | West Pennine HA |
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| Notes: 1. Data on out-patient waiting lists not collected after March 2010. 2. Number waiting over 26 weeks not available after March 2006. Source: Department of Health QM08 | |||
In addition, since 2007, waiting times on a referral to treatment (RTT) basis have been published. Information on the number of patients who waited over 26 weeks on an admitted RTT pathway at PCTs and HAs covering the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency in each year between 2008 and 2011 is shown in the following table.
| Number of admitted patients who waited 26 weeks or more from RTT | ||
| Financial year | Oldham PCT | Tameside and Glossop PCT |
| Note: Data shown for whole financial year. Source: Department of Health RTT return | ||
Information on the number of patients who waited over 26 weeks on a non-admitted RTT pathway at PCTs and HAs covering the Ashton-under-Lyne constituency in each year between 2008 and 2011 is shown in the following table.
| Number of non-admitted patients who waited 26 weeks or more from RTT | ||
| Financial year | Oldham PCT | Tameside and Glossop PCT |
| Note: Data shown for whole financial year. Source: Department of Health RTT return | ||
Written Questions: Government Responses
Mr Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to reply to the letter of 30 September 2011 from the right hon. Member for Exeter on the future of primary care support services in Devon. [77247]
Mr Simon Burns: A reply was issued to the right hon. Gentleman on 25 October 2011.
Culture, Media and Sport
Arts: Finance
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of an arm's length approach to Arts Council England's funding; and what steps he has taken to ensure value for money in the funding of arts organisations since May 2010. [78029]
Mr Vaizey:
The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), and I reviewed the work of Arts Council England (ACE) at the time of the spending review, and as part of our review of the
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Department's arm's length bodies. We remain committed to an arm's length approach to ACE's funding. We will be publishing the findings from that review shortly as part of the triennial review of ACE.
The Management Statement and Financial Memorandum produced by the Department sets out a clear responsibility for ACE to ensure best value for money. The Department participates fully in Parliament's scrutiny of ACE's responsibility. The National Audit Office has access to ACE's books and records for the purposes of examining the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which ACE has used its resources; and ACE's Accounting Officer gives evidence when summoned to appear before the Public Accounts Committee on the use and stewardship of public funds by ACE.
Culture
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many (a) theatres, (b) museums, (c) art galleries and (d) national heritage sites there are in each region of England. [78021]
Mr Vaizey: Information on the number of regional theatres, museums and galleries (combined) and heritage sites in England in 2008 can be found on the Department's website:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/research/PhysicalAssets.xls
More recent data will be published at end of this year, and copies will be deposited in the House Libraries.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport how many people are employed in (a) theatres, (b) museums, (c) art galleries and (d) national heritage sites in each of the regions of England. [78022]
Mr Vaizey: Information on the number of employees in museums, heritage and creative industries in each of the regions of England, up to 2009 can be found on the Department's website:
http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/research/CASEEconomicPerformanceData_3.xls
Art galleries and theatres are included in creative industries.
Lost Property
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport whether his Department has lost any (a) computers, (b) mobile phones, (c) BlackBerrys and (d) other IT equipment since May 2010; and if he will make a statement. [77407]
John Penrose: Since May 2010, two memory sticks, three BlackBerrys and one mobile phone have been lost.
If a mobile phone or BlackBerry device is lost or stolen, staff are required to report it immediately so that it can be disabled remotely. Staff can use only Department-issued encrypted memory sticks to carry departmental information.
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Design: Procurement
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he is taking to reduce administrative burdens for design companies competing for public sector contracts. [78028]
John Penrose: While the process of bidding for public sector contracts will involve some administrative costs for both the public sector organisation and potential bidders, a number of new initiatives have been put in place. Firstly, all public sector opportunities can be found in one central place, Contracts Finder, which went live in January 2011. Also the Department has removed the need to undertake lengthy pre-qualification questionnaires for projects under £100,000, which has shortened the procurement process, thus reducing the administrative and cost burden incurred by the supplier.
The public sector as a whole is also looking to shorten the time taken to conduct Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) tenders, with a number of measures being considered at present to make the procurement process more effective and efficient. One of these is to conduct earlier market engagement before the procurement process even starts in order to help shape actual requirements, which lead to better drafted statement of requirements, that are outcome based, thus providing a clearer idea to suppliers about what is actually required.
Cabinet Office
Consultants
Mr Thomas: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many full-time equivalent staff are employed on consultancy contracts in his Department; and if he will make a statement. [77501]
Mr Maude [holding answer 31 October 2011]:The Cabinet Office collates and publishes statistical work force management information, including data on full-time equivalent staff employed on consultancy contracts at:
http://data.gov.uk/dataset/cabinet-office-payroll-costs-non-consolidated-pay
As at 30 September 2011, 1.25 full-time equivalent staff were employed on consultancy contracts in the Cabinet Office.
Security
Jon Trickett: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what company or Government service is used to undertake security vetting at (a) counter terrorist check, (b) security check and (c) developed vetting level in his Department. [77858]
Mr Maude: The Cabinet Office employs FCO Services (a trading fund within the Foreign and Commonwealth Office) to undertake the field inquiries and the processing of all its national security vetting work.
Prime Minister
Repatriation
Mr Frank Field: To ask the Prime Minister which powers he plans to repatriate from the EU to the UK Parliament by 2015. [77567]
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The Prime Minister: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on The Andrew Marr Show on 30 October 2011. A transcript of the interview can be found on the BBC website:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/andrew_marr_show/9627898.stm
UK Trade with EU: India
Mr Davidson: To ask the Prime Minister which companies were represented on the UK trade delegation which he led to India in July 2010. [77785]
The Prime Minister: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Angus (Mr Weir) on 13 September 2010, Official Report, column 739W.
Defence
Armed Forces: Deployment
Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces have been deployed in each military action in which the UK has been involved in each of the last 10 years. [72821]
Peter Luff: The term ‘military action' has been understood as combat operations for the purpose of answering this question. UK armed forces have contributed to other activities around the world including humanitarian relief; non-combatant evacuation operations; and peace support under either national tasking or UN auspices.
As of 31 August 2011, approximately 109,000 past and present members of the UK Armed Forces were identified as having been deployed to Afghanistan since the operation began in 2001. A more detailed breakdown is provided in the following table:
|
|
Number |
| Note: All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. | |
The figures do not include personnel who deployed to Afghanistan between 1 January 2003 and 14 October 2005 and for which data are not available, although the numbers were low during this period.
As of 31 August 2011, approximately 142,000 past and present members of the UK armed forces were identified as having been deployed to Iraq since the operation began in 2003. A more detailed breakdown is provided in the following table:
|
|
Number |
1 Nov 2011 : Column 551W
| Note s : 1. All figures are rounded to the nearest 10. 2. "Combat" operations ceased on 31 July 2009. | |
These figures exclude personnel who are deployed to posts supporting these operations which are not geographically located within Afghanistan and Iraq.
Individuals are only recorded once per financial year per country, however totals include personnel who deployed to both operational theatres in the same financial year. As a number of individuals have deployed more than once, the total numbers deployed will be less than the sum of the individual years.
The figures used in this response have been provided by Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA). Due to ongoing validation work, the data provided are provisional.
Armed Forces: Recruitment
Mrs Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many serving personnel of each rank have been deployed in the recruitment of new personnel in the (a) Army, (b) Navy and (c) RAF in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement; [77182]
(2) what the cost to the public purse was of recruitment for new personnel for the (a) Army, (b) Navy and (c) RAF in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [77185]
Mr Robathan: The information requested is provided in the following table:
| Headcount | |||||
|
|
|
Total | Royal Navy | Army | RAF |
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The Ministry of Defence has recently undertaken a project to ascertain the full cost of regular and reserve recruiting and selection in financial year 2009-10. This includes all costs and manpower associated with recruiting and pre-joining activities, defined as all personnel who spend at least 25% of their working time engaged in recruiting activities in support of recruiting whether in recruitment centres, headquarters, advertising and marketing, or in the administration of such institutions as Welbeck college and the Defence Technical Undergraduate Scheme.
In financial year 2009-10 the cost of all recruiting activities and in support to recruiting was some £232 million.
Comparable information for previous years could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Work is under way to improve efficiency and ways of working in the area of recruitment and selection, including the Department's Recruiting Partnership Programme and steps to rationalise marketing activity.
British Army Training Unit Suffield
Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what improvements have been made to the British Army Training Unit Suffield in each of the last five years. [77241]
Peter Luff: The following infrastructure improvements have been made to the British Army Training Unit, Suffield (BATUS) over the last five full financial years, many of which have been provided under a cost-sharing agreement with the Canadian Government:
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In addition to this, a number of routine improvements have been made to service families accommodation in BATUS over the last five years.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department spent on hospitality for events hosted by each Minister in his Department in each of the last 12 months. [73673]
Mr Philip Hammond: On 17 November 2010 the then Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for North Somerset (Dr Fox), and the Chief of the Defence Staff co-hosted the Defence Council Reception at Lancaster House.
This annual event provides an opportunity for the London-based Commonwealth defence and service advisers and defence and service attachés of non-Commonwealth countries to meet the Secretary of State, Chief of Defence Staff, Defence Council members, and other senior figures in the Ministry of Defence (MOD).
Approximately 300 guests attended and the cost to the MOD was £12,110.67.
On 22 August 2011 the then Secretary of State hosted the Canadian Defence Minister and his wife for dinner. The cost to the MOD was £241.88.
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No other events have been hosted at the expense of the MOD in the last 12 months.
Departmental Pay
Mr Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the total monetary value of London weightings and London living allowances for staff in his Department. [74914]
Mr Robathan: The total monetary value of London weighting allowance paid to civilian staff employed by the Ministry of Defence (excluding trading funds), based on annual rates in payment as at 17 October 2011 was £10,950,136. The number of staff in receipt of London allowances was 4,908.
No additional London living allowances are paid although the Department does have London rates of base pay which are either 4% or 7% higher, dependent on grade, than rates paid to staff employed outside London.
Ministry of Defence Police and Guarding Agency
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what factors he plans to take into account when deciding on future staffing levels for the Ministry of Defence Police. [76905]
Mr Robathan: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 25 October 2011, Official Report, column 176W, to the hon. Member for Colchester (Bob Russell).
Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the security and policing role of the Ministry of Defence Police; and if he will make a statement. [76906]
Mr Robathan: A range of options that will determine the future role of the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Police is currently under consideration. No final decisions have yet been taken, pending the outcome of formal consultation with the relevant staff associations and trade unions. However, the future role of the MOD Police will focus on the specialist areas of policing at which the force excels, and which are not readily available from Home Department police forces.
Education
Children: Behaviour
Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment he has made of the effect on the behaviour of children of long-term early years neglect; and what estimate he has made of the cost of dealing with the impact of such behaviour across their lifetime. [76478]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 24 October 2011]: The Department for Education has jointly funded with the Department of Health a programme of research as part of the Safeguarding Children Research Initiative. This comprises 12 major research studies which aim to support improvements in the early recognition of neglect and abuse.
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Key findings from research on the impact of neglect, summarised in the forthcoming overview of studies in the Initiative ‘Safeguarding Children Across Services: Messages from research on identifying and responding to child maltreatment', show that neglect can have serious long-term effects on children's cognitive, socio-emotional, and behavioural development. The stage of life at which a child experiences neglectful parenting is important, as is the duration of the experience.
Neglectful parenting can have an impact on early attachment and subsequent development. Children who receive care which is unpredictable, rejecting or insensitive are more likely to develop attachments which are less secure. Children who have experienced neglectful parenting may have poorer emotional knowledge and be less able to discriminate between different kinds of emotions.
Long-term neglect in the early years is linked with conduct disorder, eating disorders, attempted and actual suicide, substance misuse, aggression and violent behaviour. Lack of stimulation in early childhood can result in delayed speech and language problems. The consequences of neglect are also known to extend to physical and mental health and to persist into adult life.
A neglected child's system of response to stress develops abnormally and this in turn results in increased vulnerability to a range of psychological, emotional and physical health problems throughout the lifespan.
Both structural and functional abnormalities are found in neglected children's brains. Changes in the areas of the brain that are concerned with emotional life and its regulation (physical, behavioural, emotional and attachment systems) have potentially highly damaging and long-term effects for those suffering neglect.
The Department does not have an estimate of the cost of dealing with the impact of behaviour of children of long-term early years neglect.
Children: Corporal Punishment
Mr Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what discussions he has had with Ministerial colleagues on legislation on the smacking of children in (a) England and (b) Wales; and if he will make a statement. [75770]
Tim Loughton: The Department for Education (DFE) has lead responsibility for this policy area.
DFE Ministers have discussed legislation on the smacking of children. The Government have no plans to introduce legislation to ban parents in England and Wales from smacking their children. They do not wish to criminalise parents for administering a mild smack. The Government's approach is to encourage the provision of evidence-based parenting programmes that promote alternatives to physical punishment to manage children's behaviour.
Children: Local Authorities
Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what guidance he has given to local authorities on determining whether it is reasonable to place a child outside of the local authority's area under section 22C of the Children Act 1989. [75652]
Mr Gibb
[holding answer 20 October 2011]: Statutory guidance issued under the Children Act 1989 (Care Planning, Placement and Case Review. March 2010),
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sets out the specified factors which must be taken into account when decisions are made to place a looked-after-child out of the area of the responsible authority. These include that the placement is the most appropriate placement for the child and will meet the child's needs set out in the care plan.
Child Protection
Ian Mearns: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will ensure that his Department's revised Working Together guidance strengthens the process for assessing chronic child neglect. [75336]
Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will ensure that his Department's revised Working Together guidance strengthens the process for assessing chronic child neglect; and if he will make a statement. [75723]
Tim Loughton: The Government response to Professor Eileen Munro's review of child protection committed to revising the statutory guidance “Working Together to Safeguard Children” and the “Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families” by July 2012. The Government also committed to making an interim amendment (on time scales, removing distinction between initial and core assessments and articulating the parameters for good assessment) by December 2011, subject to evidence emerging from trial authorities which are testing a more flexible approach to assessment.
Professor Munro stressed the importance of making a proportionate assessment that delivers an accurate understanding of a child's needs and circumstances in order to inform effective planning and the delivery of early help services. The Government are committed to building on these principles which are being tested by the trial authorities. The findings from these trials will be used to inform, develop and strengthen the revised Working Together guidance on assessment. These changes seek to give greater autonomy to front line social workers and focus on allowing more flexible time scales for assessment so that social workers can exercise their professional judgment more effectively to improve outcomes for vulnerable children.
Departmental Air Travel
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what (a) contractual obligations and (b) other processes his Department uses in respect of travel management companies to ensure the best value is achieved when purchasing airline tickets. [72700]
Tim Loughton: The information is as follows:
(a) The Department currently uses a jointly negotiated air travel booking contract together with Her Majesty‘s Revenue and Customs and the Home Office, using terms and conditions from a Government Procurement Service framework agreement. The travel management company providing travel booking services is Carlson Wagonlit UK Ltd. A new government-wide contract will be available shortly and the Department has indicated the intention to join it when available.
(b) The Department provides advice on its intranet web pages which describes the policy that staff should always consider alternatives to travel such as video conferencing.
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(c) Carlson Wagonlit UK consultants have access to a variety of airline fares and deals including specially negotiated public sector air fares, low cost internet airlines and Carlson Wagonlit UK negotiated fares which offer additional savings from standard published rates.
Upon receipt of the booking request, Carlson Wagonlit UK consultants search all the available fare types for the specific route and advise the client of the available options. This ensures the Department is able to benefit from all fare options and to maximise savings.
Departmental Billing
Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the average cost to his Department was of processing the payment of an invoice in the latest period for which figures are available; and what proportion of invoices settled in that period his Department paid (a) electronically and (b) by cheque. [74992]
Tim Loughton: Since 2 November 2009 the Department for Education has contracted with the Department for Work and Pensions shared services for the provision of corporate and transactional services. This includes the receipt, processing and settlement of commercial invoices.
During period April to September 2011
The full cost of processing the payment of an invoice electronically is £0.45, and manually £3.32.
The proportion of invoices settled electronically was 98.46% and 1.54% were paid by cheque.
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Special Advisers
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education (1) how many people his Department has employed directly who were previously political appointees since May 2010; [70431]
(2) in what capacity Mr Dominic Cummings is employed by his Department; [70497]
(3) for how long Dominic Cummings was concurrently employed by his Department and receiving payments from the New Schools Network; [70745]
(4) between what dates his Department employed Dominic Cummings. [70816]
Tim Loughton [holding answers 7 and 8 September 2011]:Since May 2010 the Department for Education has employed five people who were previously political appointees.
Dominic Cummings is employed as a special adviser to the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove). He joined the Department on 21 February 2011 and was never concurrently employed by the Department for Education and receiving payments from the New Schools Network.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many (a) full- and (b) part-time staff his Department employed in each year since 1997. [74600]
Tim Loughton: Information from 2007 for the Department and its predecessor, the Department for Children, Schools and Families, is set out in the following table:
| Department | Date | Full-time | Part-time | Total |
Information for part-time staff in the predecessor Departments before 2007 and covering the remainder of the period cannot be obtained without disproportionate cost. Similar information for full time staff in the predecessor Departments is published in archive records at the civil service and Office for National Statistics websites:
http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20110426084705/http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/about/resources/stats-archive/archived-reports.aspx
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?newquery=civil+service+statistics
Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many full-time equivalent staff of his Department are employed to work directly on safeguarding children. [75391]
Tim Loughton: As at 17 October 2011, the Department for Education's Safeguarding Group had 76.28 full-time equivalent staff in post. This figure does not include staff working in other parts of the Department, or in arm’s length bodies, who may have safeguarding policy responsibilities within their wider roles. The figure may be subject to slight fluctuations over time.
Departmental Public Expenditure
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much his Department spent on new furnishings in the last year. [73121]
Tim Loughton: The Department has spent the following on new furnishings in the past 12 months:
|
|
£ |
|
Furniture for reasonable adjustments (workstation assessments) |
|
1 Nov 2011 : Column 559W
The Department has recently re-used 200 desks from another Department for the set-up of the Standards and Testing Agency, avoiding about £100,000 of expenditure on new furnishings.
For background information, the following table provides details of expenditure on furnishings for previous financial years.
|
|
Total new furnishings (1) (£) | New vehicles |
| (1) Desk, chairs, carpets, blinds and curtains. | ||
Legal Opinion
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many times his Department's legal section provided legal advice to Ministers in (a) 2007, (b) 2009, (c) 2010 and (d) the first six months of 2011. [76359]
Tim Loughton: The Legal Adviser's Office is the legal section within the Department for Education. It is the function of the Legal Adviser's Office to provide legal advice to Ministers and policy officials, and this is the work in which its lawyers are engaged every day, It is not therefore possible to quantify the number of times that legal advice has been provided to Ministers in any given period.
Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many times his Department has sought advice from external counsel in (a) 2007, (b) 2009, (c) 2010 and (d) the first six months of 2011. [76362]
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Tim Loughton: The Department for Education is aware of 12 matters on which it has directly sought advice from external counsel during the first six months of 2011. It does not include matters on which the Treasury Solicitor, acting on behalf of the Department in litigation, has sought advice from external counsel.
The Department does not keep a central record of each time external counsel is instructed, so to provide accurate information on the number of times that counsel has been instructed in previous years could be done only at disproportionate cost.
Youth Services
Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how much each local authority in England reported in their Section 251 financial returns as their (a) budgeted and (b) outturn expenditure for 2010-11 in respect of (i) Youth Work, (ii) Connexions and (iii) all provision of activities for young people; and if he will make a statement. [75426]
Tim Loughton [holding answer 18 October 2011]:Section 251 financial returns showing outturn spend in 2010-11 will be published later this financial year. The amounts individual local authorities budgeted to spend on (i) Youth Work; (ii) Connexions and (iii) all provision of activities for young people in 2010-11 may be found in the following table.
There is significant variation in the amounts shown under each category which may reflect different interpretations of the guidance on completing the returns. The Department has commissioned a full review of how the data is collected, what it is used for, and of quality assurance.
Decisions on levels of spending on services for young people are for local authorities to make. The Government encourages local authorities to invest in evidence-based early intervention strategies to improve outcomes for disadvantaged young people, and to avoid reductions likely to lead to higher costs in future years.
| Planned gross spend on youth services 2010-11 | ||||
| LA Ref | Top tier local authority | (i) youth work | (ii) Connexions | (iii) All provision of activities for young people (1) |
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| (1 )Figures for all provision of activities for young people include: youth work; positive activities; information, advice and guidance; substance misuse and teenage pregnancy reduction; and discretionary awards and student support. | ||||