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Equipment Leasing
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the equipment leasing arrangements entered into by his Department in each of the last four years; and what the cost is to public funds in each case. [39080]
Mr. MacShane: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
External Contracts
Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which non-accounting and
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non-information technology external organisations have won new contracts with (a) his Department and (b) executive agencies in each of the past five years. [38747]
Mr. MacShane [holding answer 28 February 2002]: This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
PRIVY COUNCIL
European Union Directives
Mr. Bercow: To ask the President of the Council if he will list the European Union directives and regulations relating to his Department that have been implemented in each of the last four years, specifying (a) the title and purpose of each, (b) the cost to public funds of each and (c) the cost to businesses of each. [39116]
Mr. Robin Cook: My Department has been required to implement the working time directive. The regulations give workers rights relating to total hours worked, breaks between days worked and over a working week or fortnight, and a meal break during the working day. This directive has been implemented at no cost to public funds, as it is part of both line manager and personnel responsibilities. There has been no cost to business.
Criminal Damage
Mr. Bercow: To ask the President of the Council what the cost has been of criminal damage to his Department's buildings in each of the last four years. [44847]
Mr. Robin Cook: No such damage has been reported during the period mentioned.
Crèche Facilities
Mr. Bercow: To ask the President of the Council what crèche facilities are provided by his Department; and at what cost. [44868]
Mr. Robin Cook: My Department has no crèche facilities.
Public Service Agreements
Mr. Bercow: To ask the President of the Council (1) if he will list the public service agreement targets which have been revised and those which have been introduced since the publication of the 2001 departmental report; [43249]
- (2) which public service agreement targets scheduled to be met in 2002 will not be achieved by the due date. [44821]
Mr. Robin Cook: Like other small Departments, the Privy Council Office is not required to have a public service agreement.
Human Rights Act
Mr. Bercow: To ask the President of the Council how many cases have been brought against his Department under the Human Rights Act 1998; and what has been the cost in (a) legal fees to defend cases and (b) compensation payments. [45070]
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Mr. Robin Cook: No cases have been brought against my Department under the Human Rights Act 1998.
Age Discrimination
Mr. Bercow: To ask the President of the Council what his Department's policy is towards age discrimination. [42576]
Mr. Robin Cook: My Department is planning to review its policies and procedures to integrate age discrimination and has a commitment that there should be no unfair treatment of staff on the basis of age. The Privy Council Office has implemented the recommendations of the Performance and Innovation Unit report 'Winning the Generation Game' in particular that permanent staff can stay on up to the age of 65 subject to operational requirements.
My Department currently employs two staff who are beyond retirement age: bot are fee paid and employed for their skills and to meet the needs of the department. My Department has also taken advantage of the New Deal for Over-50s.
Energy Costs
Mr. Bercow: To ask the President of the Council if he will make a statement on energy costs incurred by his Department in each of the last 10 years. [42448]
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Mr. Robin Cook: Energy costs for my Department are as follows:
- 2000–01—£11,818.04
2001–02 (costs to date)—£9,436.70.
My Department monitors weather conditions when deciding whether to switch the heating on or off and has reduced its gas consumption by 10 per cent. for 2001 as stated in our service delivery agreement.
Government Bills
Norman Baker: To ask the President of the Council if he will list the average number of days of consideration for Government Bills in (a) the House of Commons and (b) the House of Lords in each parliamentary Session since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [42125]
Mr. Robin Cook [pursuant to his reply, 11 March 2002, c. 706W]: I regret to say that there was an error in that I had understood the times given for consideration of Bills in the Lords to include time spent in Grand Committee, which they did not. I give a corrected version 1 of the entire answer as follows, which I hope will be for the convenience of Members.
| Session | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government Bills considered—floor | 53 | 31 | 40 | 26 |
| Time taken debating | 781 hrs 53 mins | 396 hrs 38 mins | 565 hrs 5 mins | 243 hrs 35 mins |
| Average time per Bill | 14 hrs 45 mins | 12 hrs 48 mins | 14 hrs 8 mins | 9 hrs 22 mins |
| Government Bills considered—Standing Committee | 31 | 26 | 37 | 17 |
| Sittings (Standing Committee) | 228 | 207 | 341 | 121 |
| Average sittings per Bill | 7.35 | 7.96 | 9.22 | 7.12 |
| Session | 1997–98 | 1998–99 | 1999–2000 | 2000–01 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Government Bills considered on floor | 50 | 29 | 42 | 27 |
| Time taken debating | 806 hrs 54 mins | 622 hrs 48 mins | 791 hrs 33 mins | 223 hrs 38 mins |
| Average time per Bill | 16 hrs 8 mins | 21 hrs 28 mins | 18 hrs 51 mins | 8 hrs 17 mins |
| Government Bills considered in Grand Committee | 6 | 4 | 9 | 2 |
| Time taken debating | 35 hrs 29 mins | 21 hrs 30 mins | 19 hrs 47 mins | 36 hrs 54 mins |
| Average time per Bill | 5 hrs 55 mins | 5 hrs 23 mins | 2 hrs 12 mins | 18 hrs 27 mins |
(16) Supplied by the Journal Offices in the Lords and Commons.
SOLICITOR-GENERAL
Publicity
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will list the publicity and advertising campaigns run by her Department in each of the last four years, specifying the (a) purpose, (b) cost to public funds, (c) number of staff involved and (d) method of evaluation in each case. [39094]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 4 March 2002]: In my own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers, there have been no publicity or advertising campaigns in each of the last four years.
In the Departments for which the Attorney General is responsible, details are as follows:
The Crown Prosecution Service has not run any publicity or advertising campaigns in each of the last four years.
Details of the publicity costs incurred by the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last four years were provided in my reply to PQ number 36156.
Treasury Solicitor's Department
The Treasury Solicitor's Department has not been involved in any specific publicity and advertising campaigns over the last four years. However, the
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Department does incur advertising and publicity costs in its normal course of business. Details of these costs over the last four years were given in my reply to PQ number 36156.
The Serious Fraud Office has not run any publicity or advertising campaigns in each of the last four years. Details of the publicity costs incurred by the Serious Fraud Office in each of the last four years were provided in my reply to PQ number 36156.
Public Appointments
Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Solicitor-General how many appointments to public bodies have been made through her Department (a) from April 2000 to March 2001 and (b) since 31 March 2001; and how many of these were (i) men and (ii) women. [42156]
The Solicitor-General [holding answer 12 March 2002]: My own Department, the Legal Secretariat to the Law Officers has not made any appointments to public bodies (a) from April 2000 to March 2001 or (b) since March 2001.
In those Departments for which the Attorney General is responsible, details are as follows:
The Crown Prosecution Service has not made any appointments to public bodies (a) from April 2000 to March 2001 or (b) since 31 March 2001.
Treasury Solicitor's Department
The Treasury Solicitor's Department has not made any appointments to public bodies (a) from April 2000 to March 2001 or (b) since 31 March 2001.
The Serious Fraud Office has not made any appointments to public bodies (a) from April 2000 to March 2001 or (b) since 31 March 2001.
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