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6 Jul 2005 : Column WA87
Written Answers
Wednesday, 6 July 2005.
10 Downing Street: Employees
Lord Hanningfield: asked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the terms of Mr Adair Turner's employment in 10 Downing Street; and what are his responsibilities; and [HL519]
What are the terms of Mr Nick Lovegrove's employment by the Downing Street Forward Strategy Unit; and what are his responsibilities. [HL520]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: Mr Adair Turner and Mr Nick Lovegrove are no longer employed in 10 Downing Street.
10 Downing Street: Lord Birt's Office
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the nature, timescale and estimated cost of the repairs to the Lord Birt's office at Number 10 Downing Street; and what alternative office accommodation will be made available. [HL370]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The cost of the repair and associated cleaning was £2,773. This took one week to complete. As this work has been completed no alternative accommodation is necessary.
Absence from Work
Baroness Howe of Idlicote asked Her Majesty's Government:
What were the average yearly rates of absence from work on account of sickness for each year since 1990 for the following (a) the United Kingdom economy as a whole; (b) the private sector; (c) the public sector; and (d) prison officers. [HL830]
Lord McKenzie of Luton: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Advisory Committee on Business Appointments
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many former civil servants or political advisors that have left 10 Downing Street in the past three years are subject to restrictions on their activities imposed by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments; and what is the nature of any such restriction for each individual in question; and [HL555]
How many former civil servants or political advisers that have left 10 Downing Street in the past three years and who are currently employed by McKinsey and Company Incorporated are still subject to restrictions on their activities imposed by the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments; and what is the nature of any such restriction for each individual in question; and [HL556]
How many rulings from the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments have been overturned in the past 10 years; and for each case what the reasons were for the decision. [HL557]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: All civil servants, including special advisers, are subject to rules on the acceptance of outside appointments. The Advisory Committee on Business Appointments considers and makes recommendations to the Prime Minister on applications from the most senior staff. When an appointment has been taken up, the committee publishes its recommendations in its annual reports, which are available in the Library of the House and on the committee's website at www.acoba.gov.uk.
Professor Sir Michael Barber is leaving the Cabinet Office at the end of July and will take up an appointment with McKinsey and Company, which will be subject to conditions recommended by the committee. There is no record of any other civil servants, including special advisers, having left No. 10 Downing Street in the past three years to work for McKinsey and Company.
Annual Reports
Lord Berkeley asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the weight of each of the annual reports of Government departments issued recently; how many copies of each were printed; and how much recycled material was used in the paper on which they were printed. [HL780]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: The table sets out the details of each of the departmental reports which have been published at 30 June 2005.
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The quantity printed for each report is a matter for the publisher who generally accepts the financial risks involved in publishing. The quantity will take account of the known requirements of the department and Parliament and the expected sales to business, Libraries and the general public. Copies of all of the reports are also available on departmental websites and can be freely downloaded and copied.
Asylum Seekers: Children
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Unaccompanied children are not normally detained under immigration Act powers. The only limited exception to this general position is where it is sometimes necessary to detain unaccompanied children whilst alternative arrangements are made for their care and safety, and normally then just overnight. Information on the number of unaccompanied children detained in such exceptional circumstances is not available. It would only be available by examination of individual case files at disproportionate cost. Information on people detained under immigration Act powers may be found on the Home Office research development and statistics directorate website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Badgers
Baroness Byford asked Her Majesty's Government:
Why evidence collected under the Krebs trial of badger culling is not currently in the public domain; and whether they intend to publish the findings of the trial. [HL623]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Bach): The independent scientific group on cattle TB (ISG) has advised that it is a fundamental principle of scientific trials that data must not be released prematurely, since this could compromise the subsequent integrity of the trials. A great deal of data have been collected and the ISG has started a number of analyses, and plans more. As these are completed results will be made known to Ministers and be published, where possible, in peer reviewed scientific journals.
The ISG has also said it will inform Ministers about any significant findings before the trials are complete. They have already done this with the reactive elements of the trials, which were suspended as a result.
The ISG aims to reveal the outcome of the proactive culling effect of the randomised badger culling trial to Ministers in spring 2006 and publish its final report, covering all its works and findings, in spring 2007.
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