| Home Page |
Column 753
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 2 February 1995
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Cash Limits
Mr. Patrick Thompson: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proposals there are to change the 1994 95 cash limit for Her Majesty's Stationery Office.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary Supplementary Estimate, the cash limit for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, class XVIII, vote 4, will be increased by £59,000 from £2,093,000 to £2,152,000. The increase is necessary to meet a higher than expected level of demand for official publications from United Kingdom Members of the European Parliament, and to restore a shortfall in compensation for the public library discount on official publications, which was occasioned in 1993 94 by excess expenditure on behalf of Members of the European Parliament. The increase will be offset by savings on class XVIII, vote 1, and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
Mrs Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what proposals he has to change the 1994 95 cash limit or running costs limit for the Office of Public Service and Science.
Mr. David Hunt: The cash limit for the Office of Public Service and Science, class XVIII, vote 1 will be decreased by £1,556,000 from £66,428,000 to £64,872,000 and the gross running cost limit will also be decreased by £1,556,000 from £85,506,000 to £83,950,000. The majority of this decrease, £1,500,000, is in effect a transfer to Cabinet Office other services, class XIX, vote 1, in final settlement of an earlier transfer of functions. The remaining £56,000 is being transferred to HMSO, class XVIII, vote 4, to cover the increase in Members of the European Parliament supplies. The decrease is offset by increases to other Government Departments and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
Science Budget
Mr. Hawkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what changes he proposes to the estimates, class XVIII, vote 2--Science--for 1994 95.
Mr. David Hunt: Subject to parliamentary approval of the necessary supplementary estimate, the cash limit for class XVIII, vote 2 will be increased by £840,000 from £1,225,527,000 to £1,226,367,000 to enable the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council to meet the cost of certain redundancies at Horticulture Research International. The increase is offset by a similar reduction in class III, vote 4 and will not therefore add to the planned total of public expenditure.
The opportunity of the supplementary estimate is also being taken to show changes to the appropriations in aid
Column 754
of the vote and to switch resources between certain subheads of the vote.Mr. David Shaw: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement on the distribution of the science budget in 1995 96.
Mr. David Hunt: I have discussed the allocations with the Director General of Research Councils and have decided that, subject to parliamentary approval of the supply estimates in due course, the science budget of £1,281.675 million should be allocated as follows.
Allocations for |£ million
1995-96
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research
Council |161.631
Economic and Social Research Council |61,232
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research
Council |365.702
Medical Research Council |277.809
Natural Environment Research Council |155.483
Particle Physics and Astronomy Research
Council |196.367
Council for the Central Laboratory of the Research
Councils |1.500
Additional funding for LINK schemes (to be allocated
to Research Councils in due course) |3.000
Royal Society |20.786
Royal Academy of Engineering |2.617
OST initiatives |2.250
Research Councils' Pension Scheme |33.298
Total |1,281.675
In making these allocations, I need to ensure that momentum is maintained with implementing the science, engineering and technology White Paper "Realising Our Potential". I have therefore decided that some 5 per cent. of the science budget should be targeted to priority initiatives aimed specifically at taking White Paper issues forward. Further details are set out in the paper "Allocation of the Science Budget 1995 96" which I have placed in the Library of the House.
Absenteeism
Mr. Chidgey: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what was the absenteeism rate for (a) the Central Office of Information, (b) the Office of Public Service and Science, (c) the Chessington Computer Centre, (d) the Civil Service college, (e) HMSO, (f) the occupational health service and (g) the Recruitment and Assessment Services Agency in each year since 1991.
Mr. Robert G. Hughes: The average number of days sick leave taken by members of the staff of OPSS in each of the last four years was:
|1991|1992|1993|1994
------------------------------------------------------
Office of Public Service and
Science |3.2 |4.5 |4.3 |3.3
These figures include any weekends and public holidays which occurred within a single period of sickness absence.
I have asked the chief executives of each of the other Departments and agencies the hon. Member mentions to write to him with the information he seeks as they are responsible for operational matters within their organisations.
Column 755
Letter from Michael D. Geddes to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 30 January 1995:Mr. Robert Hughes has asked me to let you have the following information in respect of the average number of days sick leave taken by the staff in the Recruitment and Assessment Services Agency; it was:
1991: 7.2
1992: 11.1
1993: 15.8
1994: 15.1
I hope that this information is useful to you.
Letter from Dr. Stephen Hickey to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 26 January 1995:
I have been asked to reply to your question about the absenteeism rate for the Civil Service College in each year since 1991. The average number of days sick leave taken by members of the staff in each of the last four years was:
1991 |1992|1993|1994 ------------------------- 4.6 |5.3 |8.2 |7.4 These figures include any weekends and public holidays which occurred within a single period of sickness absence.
Letter from Paul Freeman to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 26 January 1995:
I have been asked by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster to reply to part of your question on absenteeism.
The average number of days sick leave taken by members of staff in HMSO in each of the last four years was:
1991 |1992|1993|1994 ------------------------- 10.0 |9.2 |10.4|7.2
Letter from Dr. E. C. McCloy to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 27 January 1995 :
The Parliamentary Secretary, Office of Public Service and Science (Mr. Robert Hughes) has asked me to provide for my Agency, the information requested in your Parliamentary Question to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster about the absenteeism rate since 1991.
The average number of days sick leave taken by members of the staff of the Agency in each of the years since 1991 was:
1991 |1992|1993|1994 ------------------------- 4.9 |6.2 |9.5 |11.4 This information has been taken from records produced by Chessington Computer Centre and is provided on the same basis as that given for the Office of Public Service. The figures therefore include any weekends and public holidays which occurred within a single period of sickness, and do not necessarily reflect days absent from the office due to sickness.
Letter from R. N. Edwards to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 26 January 1995:
Column 756
SICK ABSENCE AT CHESSINGTON COMPUTER CENTREI refer to your enquiry of 19 January to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster regarding absenteeism at Chessington Computer Centre.
The average number of days sick leave taken by members of staff at Chessington Computer Centre in each of the last four years was:
1991 |1992|1993|1994 ------------------------- 8.6 |9.3 |11.5|10.8 The figures include any weekends and public holidays which occurred within a single period of sickness absence.
Letter from Mike Devereau to Mr. David Chidgey, dated 26 January 1995:
In response to your PQ addressed to the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the absenteeism rates for the Central Office of Information in each of the last four years were as follows: