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25 Jun 2008 : Column 317W—continued
(1 )Ofcom/DUK DSO Tracker—Q1 2008
Libraries: Construction
Mr. Hepburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many public libraries have been built in (a) Jarrow constituency, (b) South Tyneside, (c) the North East and (d) England in each year since 1997. [210967]
Margaret Hodge: Information is not held centrally on the number of public libraries which have been built in Jarrow, South Tyneside, the North-East or England in each year since 1997.
Public Library Statistics, an annual publication produced by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, provides information on the total number of libraries in South Tyneside, the North-East and England, but it does not publish information on the number of libraries in the parliamentary constituency of Jarrow. Copies of Public Library Statistics are available in the Library of the House.
Olympics 2012: Big Lottery Fund
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much funding from the Big Lottery Fund will be allocated to the 2012 London Olympics. [213453]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Approximately £638.1 million held in the National Lottery Distribution Fund on the Big Lottery Fund's behalf will form part of the £1,085 million to be transferred to the Olympic Lottery Distribution Fund between the first quarter of the current financial year (2008-09) and the second quarter of 2012-13.
Wood
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much timber and timber products were procured by his Department in each of the last five years; and at what cost. [213725]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department does not hold management information on procurement of timber and timber products.
Mr. Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much timber and timber products were procured by his Department originating from independently verified legal and sustainable sources or from a licensed FLEGT partner in each of the last five years; and at what cost. [213726]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Department does not hold management information on the procurement of timber and timber products. However it is the Department's policy to procure verifiable legal timber where possible.
Innovation, Universities and Skills
Higher Education
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what account the Higher Education Funding Council for England will take of areas of rapid population expansion in considering the location of 20 new universities. [214006]
Bill Rammell: We want to give everyone who has the talent the chance to go to university whether they are about to leave school or already in work. Students should have access to local provision offering flexible courses to suit their needs. We are therefore delighted by the interest that our new university challenge has generated. Any proposals for new university campuses or centres of HE will be assessed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England against the broad criteria we published in our new “University Challenge” criteria published in March which include “underpinning population growth strategies” as part of unlocking the potential of towns and people. HEFCE plan to publish a consultation document shortly.
Higher Education: North West
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many residents of (a) Chorley constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) the North West entered higher education in each of the last 10 years. [213646]
Bill Rammell: The latest available information is shown in the table. Comparable figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in January 2009.
| Entrants( 1) to undergraduate courses from Chorley parliamentary constituency, Lancashire local authority and the North West Government office region—UK higher education institutions—academic years 1997/98 to 2006/07 | |||
| Academic year | Chorley | Lancashire | North West( 2) |
| (1) Figures are on a snapshot basis as at 1 December to maintain a consistent time series across all years and are rounded to the nearest five. Figures include the Open University but exclude those on writing up, sabbatical or dormant mode of study. Figures cover entrants to both full-time and part-time undergraduate courses. (2) Inconsistencies between figures in the time series for the North West Government office region are due to the inclusion/exclusion of Merseyside. In 1997/98, Merseyside was included in the North West. From 1998/99 to 2001/02, Merseyside was administratively classified as a separate region. From 2002/03 onwards, Merseyside was again included in the North West. Figures across the time series are not on a consistent basis, and as such, are not comparable. (3) Figures for 1997/98 exclude the Open University because there are no figures available for entrants to undergraduate courses at the Open University by local authority for this year. (4) As a consequence of a problem identified with data submitted by the Open University (OU) in the 2004/05 academic year, a number of students were not returned as entrants although included in the total enrolments figure. However as a result, the increase in entrants between 2004/05 and 2005/06 appears greater than in reality, particularly in respect of undergraduate entrants. Source: Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). | |||
Innovation: Business
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent steps the Government has taken to increase the use of innovation in business. [213191]
Ian Pearson: We recently published our White Paper, Innovation Nation, that included a number of measures aimed at increasing the level of innovation within business. These included:
Increased support for business innovation through the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) by bringing forward five new Innovation Platforms over the next three years and doubling the number of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships;
Plans to reform the Small Business Research initiative;
Provision of an innovation voucher to at least 1,000 businesses per year by 2010-11 to enable them to collaborate with a knowledge base institution with an overall aim to help those firms boost their innovation and profits; and
Plans to pilot a revenue-based FE Specialisation and Innovation Fund to build the capacity of the FE Sector to support businesses to raise their innovation potential.
In addition, we have also published a Higher Level Skills Strategy to provide an overall framework for driving up the higher level skills that contribute to innovation in business.
Solicitor-General
Departmental Trade Unions
Bob Spink: To ask the Solicitor-General which trades unions represent members of staff in (a) the Attorney-General's office and (b) its agency. [212475]
The Solicitor-General: The trade unions which represent staff at the Attorney-General's Office and its agencies are the First Division Association (FDA) and Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS). The staff of the Serious Fraud Office are also represented by Prospect.
Genetics: Data Protection
Mr. Meacher: To ask the Solicitor-General pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 21 May 2008, Official Report, columns 28-30WS, on DNA profiles: disk inquiry, what disciplinary action has been taken against staff; against whom it has been taken; and what other management action and internal procedural changes have been put in place to prevent a similar occurrence in the future. [213817]
The Solicitor-General: Following the inquiry by Peter Lewis, chief executive of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) into the handling of the Dutch DNA disk, disciplinary proceedings have been instigated against one member of staff but have not yet concluded. It is not appropriate to name the individual concerned.
Immediate measures were put in place within the relevant part of the Crown Prosecution Service headquarters (CPS HQ) to ensure that all incoming post is dealt with securely, and acted on both expeditiously and appropriately.
The wider recommendations about the handling of such mutual exchange arrangements in future are being taken forward by the National Policing Improvement Agency. They should ensure that in future the appropriate recipients, not the CPS, receive and are properly notified of the transmission of such data.
The chief executive has also commissioned a wider review to look at operating processes and working practices across the whole of CPS HQ to identify areas where further improvements can be made.
Prosecutions: Foreigners
Mr. Love: To ask the Solicitor-General what discussions she has had with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) on the case against Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan, commonly known as Colonel Karuna, a Sri Lankan citizen; if she will request the CPS to review the decision not to prosecute in this case; and if she will make a statement. [213815]
The Solicitor-General: I have not had any discussions about this case with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). A file of evidence relating to a serious allegation was submitted to the CPS for advice and the case was reviewed in accordance with the code for Crown prosecutors. The reviewing Crown prosecutor advised the police that there was not a realistic prospect of a conviction against Colonel Karuna for any criminal offence based on the evidence that was submitted.
Work and Pensions
Carers’ Allowances: Cleethorpes
Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people in Cleethorpes constituency are in receipt of the carer’s allowance. [212838]
Mrs. McGuire: As at November 2007, 870 people in Cleethorpes constituency were in receipt of the carer’s allowance.
Child Support Agency: Telephone Services
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether his Department has estimated (a) the average length of telephone calls to the Child Support Agency and (b) the average length of time callers are kept in a queue before their calls are answered. [212072]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 25 June 2008:
In reply to your recent parliamentary question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has estimated (a) the average length of telephone calls to the Child Support Agency and (b) the average length of time callers are kept in a queue before their calls are answered. [212072]
The Agency has shown significant and sustained improvement in client service under its Operational Improvement Plan. In the year ending March 2008, the Agency received 5,369,000 calls from clients and answered 98 per cent. of calls available to be answered, with an average waiting time of just twenty seconds. The average length of telephone call to the Agency over this period was three minutes 25 seconds.
In contrast, in the year to March 2005, the Agency answered only 84 per cent. of calls and the average waiting time was one minute 40 seconds.
Information on telephony performance is routinely published in Table 16 of the Child Support Agency's Quarterly Summary of Statistics, the latest copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library or online:
I hope you find this answer helpful.
Children: Maintenance
Mr. Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many outstanding cases the Child Support Agency has in Wales. [212700]
Mr. Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is the matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the right hon. Member with the information requested.
Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 25 June 2008:
In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many outstanding cases the Child Support Agency has in Wales. [212700]
The information requested is routinely published in Supplementary Table 2a of the Child Support Agency’s Quarterly Summary of Statistics (QSS), the latest copy of which is available in the House of Commons library or online at:
I hope you find this answer helpful.
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