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A confirmation of acceptance for studies (CAS) is not a paper document; it is a virtual document, similar to a database record, which sponsors complete within the sponsorship management system (SMS).
Elections
Question
Asked by Lord Roberts of Llandudno
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many days there are between the close of nominations for elections to the National Assembly for Wales and (a) the last day for receipt of postal vote applications, and (b) polling day. [HL2725]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Applications for postal votes for elections to the National Assembly for Wales must be received by 5pm on the 11th day before polling day. Postal ballot papers cannot be sent out before that time. Nominations close at noon on the 19th day before polling day.
Estate Agents: Regulation
Question
Asked by Baroness Harris of Richmond
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Office of Fair Trading has decided that estate agents do not require regulation. [HL2509]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Lord Young of Norwood Green): The Office of Fair Trading published a market study report entitled Home Buying and Selling on 18 February 2010. The rationale for the OFT's recommendations is set out in this report. The Government will respond to the OFT's recommendations in due course.
Expenditure: Office Equipment
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average purchase price, excluding value added tax, of a 500-sheet ream of white A4 80 gsm photocopier paper paid by (a) the Local Better Regulation Office, (b) the Competition Commission, (c) the Certification Officer, (d) the Union Modernisation Fund Supervisory Board, (e) the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Advisory Board, (f) Enterprise and Business Support, and (g) the Consumer Council for Postal Services, in the latest period for which figures are available; and how much they spent in total on all photocopier paper in the last year for which figures are available. [HL2438]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Lord Young of Norwood Green): The information is as follows:
(a) The Local Better Regulation Office
The Local Better Regulation Office pays £1.99 excluding VAT for each 500-sheet ream of white A4 80 gsm photocopier paper. The total spend was £804.70 excluding VAT for the period for which figures are available-11 months from April 2009.
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(b) The Competition Commission
The average price of a 500-sheet ream of white A4 gsm photocopier paper purchased by the Competition Commission was £1.88 excluding VAT. For the period 1 April 2009 to 31 January 2010 the Competition Commission purchased 3,650 packs of paper at a total cost of £6,862 excluding VAT.
The Certification Officer pays £2.80 for each 500-sheet ream of white A4 80 gsm photocopier paper. In 2008-09, 210 packs of paper were purchased at a total cost of £588.40.
(d) The Union Modernisation Fund Supervisory Board
The Union Modernisation Fund Supervisory Board receives support from my department and therefore does not purchase any photocopier paper in its own right.
(e) The Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Advisory Board
The department provides the secretariat for the advisory board. The purchase price in (f) below applies.
(f) Enterprise and Business Support
Enterprise and Business Support forms part of two directorates within my department and the department currently pays £1.65p for each 500-sheet ream of white A4 80 gsm photocopier paper, exclusive of VAT. Information on actual reams purchased by departmental directorates is not held centrally.
(g) The Consumer Council for Postal Services
The Consumer Council for Postal Services was abolished in 2008.
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment the Office for Government Commerce has made of the total public sector procurement budget for (a) stationery, and (b) photocopier paper. [HL2629]
The Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury (Lord Myners): This information is not held centrally and to collect it would incur disproportionate cost.
However, the Operational Efficiency Programme (OEP) published at Budget 2009 gave an estimate of £2.4 billion of procurement expenditure in 2007-08 on office solutions across Government, including the wider public sector. This total includes expenditure on stationery and photocopier paper alongside other categories such as postal services, records storage and office machinery. The Office of Government Commerce is currently compiling comparable figures for 2008-09 as part of its work to meet OEP targets on categorisation of public expenditure on procurement.
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Government Departments: Consultancy Services
Questions
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Department for Transport and its agencies spent on (a) public relations consultants, and (b) public affairs consultants, in each of the past three years; and for what purposes. [HL2449]
The Secretary of State for Transport (Lord Adonis): The Department for Transport and its executive agencies operate separate finance systems that record expenditure differently and there are no centralised records relating to spend on public relations consultants and public affairs consultants during the past three years. To search across the department's disparate finance systems to obtain this information would incur disproportionate cost.
Public relations consultants perform an important role in disseminating information to the public on a range of transport issues including road safety. The major campaigns involving public relations consultants and the expenditure on those campaigns in each of the past three years are as follows:
| PR Campaigns | 2006-07 | 2007-08 | 2008-09 |
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, its predecessors and its agencies spent on (a) public relations consultants, and (b) public affairs consultants, in each of the last three years; and for what purposes. [HL2496]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Lord Young of Norwood Green): The department spent the following via the Central Office of Information (COI) and directly with public relations agencies in the last three years. This includes spend for campaigns started by the former Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the former Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS)).
| 2009-10 BIS campaign (including BERR and DIUS) | Company | Amount |
| 2008-09 BERR Campaign | Company | Amount |
| 2008-09 DIUS campaign | ||
| 2007-08 DTI/BERR | ||
| 2007-08 DIUS campaign | ||
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