§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Lord President of the Council if he will make it his policy to ensure that the service provided by the Vote Office meets the demands of right hon. and hon. Members for publications whether they collect them in person or delegate a member of their staff to do so on their behalf.
§ Mr. WakehamI have no evidence to suggest that the service provided by the staff of the Vote Office does not meet the requirements of hon. Members. However, I understand that where constraints of time, space, or the availability of documents arise, priority is necessarily given to supplying Members in person. It is not usually practicable to distinguish between priorities expressed by other callers.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Lord President of the Council on how many sitting days since the summer recess it has been possible for hon. Members to collect from the Vote Office at 8.30 am copies of both the full 221W Vote bundle and the Hansard for the previous day's sitting; and what percentage of total sitting days in the period this figure represents.
§ Mr. WakehamIt has been possible for hon. Members to collect the Vote bundle, as supplied to Members, together withHansard for the previous day by 8.30 am on 65 sitting days since the summer recess. This represents 90 per cent. of the total sitting days during the period.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the Lord President of the Council (1) why the Vote Office refuses to deal with requests for publications made at the request of hon. Members by individuals working for hon. Members until 8.45 am;
(2) if he will seek to ensure that the Vote Office meets the demands of hon. Members for publications from 8 am whether made in person or where the request for publications is dealt with by a member of their staff on an hon. Member's instructions.
§ Mr. WakehamThe Vote Office will always provide a service for Members whenever staff are on duty and in possession of the document required. This being said, the constraints of time and space preclude dealing with the generality of other callers until after the documents received from Her Majesty's Stationery Office have been sorted and despatched on the early morning delivery service to Members. I understand that, despite the Vote Office not being formally staffed to provide a service to other callers earlier than 9.30 am, the Deliverer of the Vote provides such a service from 8.45 am. This time is kept under review and it is hoped that, in due course, it may be brought forward again without detriment to the overall service provided.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the hon. Member for Berwick upon Tweed as representing the House of Commons Commission, how many people are currently employed in the Vote Office; on what salary scales; and to what other benefits they are entitled.
§ Mr. WakehamI have been asked to reply.
The information requested is set out in the following tables:
Staff in post Salary scale £ Effective date 1 Deliverer of the Vote 20,313–26,862 1 September 1987 1 Deputy Deliverer of the Vote 15,054–19,790 1 September 1987 1 Assistant Deliverer of the Vote 11,512–14,405 1 January 1988 3 Superintending Clerks 10,014–12,473 1 January 1988 4 Vote Office Assistants 8,839–11,819 1 January 1988 9 Office Clerks-Senior Office Clerks 7,377–9,761 1 January 1988 15 Porters (25 part-time, 20.5 hours) 12,915 1 Rises to £3,050 per annum after five years' service.
222W
Staff in receipt of allowance Number and nature of allowances Amount per annum £ Deliverer and Deputy Three nights' allowance 13,045 Deliverer of the Vote; Assistant Deliverer of the Vote; Superintending Clerk
Staff in receipt of allowance Number and nature of allowances Amount per annum £ Superintending Clerk Vote Office; Chief Office Clerks; Vote Office Assistants Five nights' allowances 12,535 Superintending Clerk (Sales Office) and junior staff Four late duty 11,510 Superintending Clerk; Vote Office assistant Two morning duty 1,925 Superintending Clerk; Vote Office assistant Two morning responsibility allowance 225 Junior staff Nine morning duty as Vote Office porters (17 hours) 22,415 Junior staff One cleaning allowance 985 1 Expressed as the amount paid for two nights' extra duty; some staff work only one night and therefore receive half of this amount. 2 Rises to £2,535 per annum after five years service.
§ Mr. Nicholas WintertonTo ask the hon. Member for Berwick upon Tweed as representing the House of Commons Commission, what is the total cost of running the Vote Office.
§ Mr. WakehamI have been asked to reply.
The cost of the staff of the Vote Office, including employer's national insurance contributions, is estimated at £344,000 for the current year, including £31,500 for the cost of staff of the sale office. Separate figures are not available for the cost of accommodation and other office services (such as telephones and office machinery) used by the Vote Office.