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The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether there is a case for increased oversight and scrutiny of government information technology projects, in particular reference projects subject to significant variations in the original contract or price. [HL4655]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The Government recognise the importance of effective oversight and scrutiny of information technology projects, and have introduced a range of measures consistently reinforcing this principle.
These include the OGC Gateway Review process, the Embedding Centres of Excellence Programme, Mission Critical reporting, the establishment of a ministerial committee on electronic service delivery and the mandatory application of the NAO/OGC list of common causes of project failure to major acquisition-based projects.
There is on-going oversight and scrutiny of all major government IT projects, underpinned by expert support and assurance as required.
8 Nov 2004 : Column WA62
The Earl of Northesk asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether adequate controls are in place to guarantee proper accountability and transparency in the procurement and management of government information technology projects. [HL4656]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The accountability of Government IT projects is, in the first instance, determined by internal departmental controls.
Externally, the National Audit Office independently undertakes additional assurance, through its value for money work, to determine the degree to which IT and non-IT projects have met and/or are meeting stated aims within specified efficiency and effectiveness criteria. The NAO's reports and recommendations are publicly available.
The Government believe that these measures are adequate to guarantee proper accountability and transparency in the procurement and management of information technology projects.
Lord Patten asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 20 October (WA 84), whether the production by the Office for National Statistics of estimates of output per hour worked for both the private and public sectors in the United Kingdom will help understanding of the international comparisons of whole economy output per hour, currently being published on an experimental basis. [HL4669]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
Letter from the National Statistician, Len Cook, to the Lord Patten, dated 8 November 2004.
As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question on international comparisons of output per hour worked. (HL4669)
For Office for National Statistics (ONS) international comparisons of productivity (ICP), individual countries' national gross domestic product at current prices are converted into comparable volume measures using the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's (OECD) current purchasing power parities (PPPs) to remove cross-country price differentials. Any further details such as estimates of hourly productivity for different sectors could be used to help our understanding of national relative productivity positions, but there remain some particular measurement and data difficulties so that ONS does not currently publish such detail.
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Some countries publish productivity measures for their business sector or marketed economy (eg the US and Canada). It is common to focus on parts of the economy because the economy is considered to be measured more accurately at an individual sector level. Historically, the UK has focussed more on industry detail, rather than institutional sectors, and headline UK measures highlight the production industries where there is a long series of consistent output and labour series forming the basis for productivity measures.
On public sector productivity, we have asked Sir Tony Atkinson, Warden of Nuffield College, Oxford, to carry out a review of "Measurement of Government Output and Productivity for the National Accounts". Sir Tony published an interim report in July 2004, and his final report is due in January 2005. Once I have considered Sir Tony's final report, it will be for me to decide what changes to make to statistics produced by ONS.
On the employment side, ONS publishes public sector employment statistics (with the next set of figures due to be released during November). ONS is also leading a programme of work to improve the quality of these statistics in collaboration with government departments.
Lord Moynihan asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the reason for the £18,203,000 underspend by Sport England identified within the Department for Culture, Media and Sport's Resource Accounts 200304. [HL4677]
Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The underspend relates to the Community Club Development Programme. As this is a capital programme, although the £20 million funding in 200304 was fully committed to recipients during the 200304 financial year, it will be drawn down as recipients need it. The balance of the money is expected to be distributed during this financial year.
8 Nov 2004 : Column WA64
Lord Mason of Barnsley asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Whitty on 20 November 2003 (WA 36364), what progress has been made in satisfying the European Commission against its charges of the United Kingdom's failings on the conservation and sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources under the Common Fisheries Policy. [HL4590]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Whitty): A formal response was sent to the Commission in January 2004 which set out the controls already in place in the UK Fisheries Departments and the steps that are to be taken during 2004 and 2005 to strengthen existing arrangements in order to ensure that the UK fully met the obligations that arise from the CFP.
The opinion of the infraction chefs is still awaited.
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether any record is kept of the number of badgers killed on British roads; and whether they consider that badgers are a danger to road safety and, potentially, to the occupants of vehicles. [HL4612]
Lord Whitty: The Government do not keep a record of the numbers of badgers killed on British roads. Badgers are not considered a general danger to road safety or the occupants of vehicles, although, as with any medium or larger-sized animal, there is always the potential for adverse consequences for occupants if a vehicle collides with or swerves to avoid such an animal.
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