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Questions

Asked by Lord Laird

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the management structure of the Serious Organised Crime Agency; how many managers are at each level; and what is the cost per year of their salaries and expenses. [HL4940]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The Serious Organised Crime Agency has a nine-grade structure from the director general, to grade 6. Almost all staff at grade 2 and above and most staff at grades 3 and 4 have line management responsibility, including leading teams of investigative officers. Grades are also reflective of specialist skills. The breakdown of full-time equivalent staff by grade and salary range as of 30 September 2009, including those at CEOP and secondees where SOCA pays their salary is as follows:

Grade	Number of staff	Salary range
Director General	1	£180,000 to £185,000
Executive Director	5 (includes SOCA legal advisor)	£135,000 to £145,000
Deputy Director	31	£82,861 to £93,909
Grade 1	86	£62,146 to £80,883
Grade 2	257	£50,732 to £66,025
Grade 3	573	£40, 586 to £54,050
Grade 4	1,225	£32,469 to £43,240
Grade five-6	1,802	£17,689 to £34,591

SOCA's annual accounts for 2008-09 stated that £18,578,000 was spent on accommodation, subsistence

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and general expenses in 2008-09. This figure includes expenses incurred by staff based overseas and expenses both at home and overseas incurred in the course of operational activity. A breakdown of this figure by grade could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Asked by Lord Laird

To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will answer Written Questions HL4940, HL 4941 and HL4942, tabled on 8 July; and what is the cause of the delay in answering them. [HL5646]

Lord West of Spithead: Unfortunately, due to an administrative error in the internal questions alert system these Questions were not received by policy officials until 7 October. They have all now been answered and I apologise for the delay incurred.

Shipping: Light Dues

Question

Asked by Lord Berkeley

To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Department for Transport and its predecessors spent on consultants' studies on light dues issues (a) from 1993 to 2004, and (b) from 2005 to 2008. [HL5591]

The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): Information for the years prior to 2004 may not be complete because records are no longer retained but the following amounts are known to have been spent:

(a) from 1993 to 2004: £80,113; and

(b) from 2005 to 2008: £72,919.

Sierra Leone: Visas

Question

Asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham

To ask Her Majesty's Government why they ceased issuing visas in Sierra Leone; and whether they will restore consular services in Freetown to

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allow citizens to obtain appropriate documentation for visiting the United Kingdom. [HL5659]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord West of Spithead): The UK Border Agency continues to issue visas in Freetown, Sierra Leone. All applicants in Sierra Leone continue to be able to submit their applications and collect appropriate documentation in Freetown. Consular services for British nationals have not been affected by decisions relating to the visa service for nationals of Sierra Leone. The British high commission in Freetown continues to provide the full range of consular services to British nationals in Sierra Leone.

St Helena: Airport

Question

Asked by Lord Jones of Cheltenham

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many responses they received to the public consultation on the planned airport for St Helena; and when they expect to publish their conclusion. [HL5613]

Lord Brett: We received approximately 2,530 written responses to the public consultation on the most appropriate option for access to St Helena. In addition, approximately 1000 people attended meetings with the consultation facilitator.

The consultation report will be published in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines this autumn.

Trade Unions

Question

Asked by Lord Laird

To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to require trade unions which elect their national officers to publish their political affiliations at the time of such elections. [HL5701]

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Lord Young of Norwood Green): The Government have no proposals of this kind.

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