HC Deb 30 January 1996 vol 270 cc703-6W
Mr. Malcolm Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of expenditure on all forms of hospitality and entertainment by(a) his Department, (b) his Department's agencies and (c) non-departmental public bodies, for (i) 1979–80, (ii) 1989–90, (iii) 1991–92, (iv) 1993–94, (v) 1994–95, (vi) 1995–96 and (vii) 1996–97. [11443]

Mr. Howard

Following is the information about expenditure on hospitality and entertainment by my Department:

Year Department (excluding agencies and non-departmental public bodies) £ Agencies £ Non-departmental public bodies £
1989–90 28,630 — 527
1991–92 28,094 — 766
1993–94 15,233 33,784 2,270
1994–95 15,990 11,478 1,552
1995–96 (provisional) 27,970 32,600 6,227
1996–97 (provisional) 30,300 13,000 7,029

Details of expenditure in 1979–80 are not available.

Mr. Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of departmental expenditure on administration for(a) 1979–80, (b) 1989–90, (c) 1991–92, (d) 1993–94, (e) 1994–95, (f) 1995–96 and (g) 1996–97. [11444]

Mr. Howard

Expenditure by my Department on administration, as set out at annexe 3 to the Home Office annual report 1995, Cm 2808, is as follows:

£ million
1989–90 Outturn 1,085
1991–92 Outturn 1,441
1993–94 Outturn 1,623
1994–95 Estimated outturn 1,729
1995–96 Plans 1,746
1996–97 Plans 1,780

Comparable details of expenditure in 1979–80 are not available.

Mr. Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the expenditure of his Department, his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies on all forms of overseas travel, overseas accommodation and other associated expenses for(a) 1979–80, (b) 1989–90, (c) 1991–92, (d) 1993–94, (e) 1994–95, (f) 1995–96 and (g) 1996–97. [11446]

Mr. Howard

The estimate of expenditure for my Department on all forms of overseas travel, overseas accommodation and other associated expenses is as follows:

  1. (a) 1979–80: not available.
  2. (b) 1989–90: this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
  3. (c) 1991–92: this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
  4. (d) 1993–94: this information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
  5. (e) 1994–95: £1,758,692.
  6. (f) 1995–96: expenditure to date £2,055,439. An estimate of the total for the year can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
  7. (g) 1996–97: an estimate for the year can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of his Department's expenditure on newspapers and magazines in(a) 1993–94, (b) 1994–95 and (c) 1995–96, to date; and if he will list the publications purchased for the latest year for which information is available. [11447]

Mr. Howard

The information requested is as follows:

  • 1993–94: £232,800
  • 1994–95: £226,154
  • 1995–96: £110,338 (to date).

These figures relate to newspapers and magazines purchased centrally through the Home Office information and library services for the Home Department, including the Prison Service headquarters and the immigration and nationality department. No central record is held of materials purchased from divisional funds, or in respect of purchases by non-departmental public bodies for which my Department is responsible.

My Department purchases or obtains free of charge a wide range of newspapers and periodical publications. A list of their titles has been placed in the Library.

Mr. Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the annual telephone costs to(a) his Department, (b) his Department's agencies and (c) his Department's non-departmental public bodies staff for each of the years (i) 1979–80, (ii) 1989–90, (iii) 1991–92, (iv) 1993–94, (v) 1994–95, (vi) 1995–96 and (vii) 1996–97; and if internal telephone directories are available to staff in all areas of (a) to (c). [11386]

Mr. Howard

[holding answer 25 January 1996]: The annual telephone costs to my Department are as follows:

£ thousands
Year Department (excluding agencies and non-departmental public bodies) Agencies Non-departmental public bodies
1993–94 4,706 8,400 392
1994–95 4,577 8,995 381
1995–96 (provisional) 5,019 1647 406
1996–97 (provisional) 4,816 11,055 455
1Details of the provisional expenditure by the Prison Service executive agency in 1995–96 and 1996–97 are not yet available.

Details of expenditure prior to 1993–94 are not available.

Staff of my Department in central London offices make use of CCTA's metropolitan telephone service—MTS—which provides fully managed telephone and directory services. The MTS requires the Department to maintain a current directory of staff, location and telephone extensions to enable the MTS operators to provide a directory inquiry service to internal and external callers. All offices on the MTS are connected to the Government telephone network–GTN–as are many other offices of my Department outside the central London area. The GTN dialling codes booklet is available to all staff in these offices. It enables them to identify the operator in any other Government building for inquiry services.

The Home Office staff telephone directory is available to all staff in my Department and its agencies, and to staff in certain Home Office sponsored non-departmental public bodies. Other non-departmental public bodies produce their own internal telephone directories.

Mr. Bruce

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of the annual cost to his Department and his Department's agencies and non-departmental public bodies of their empty and under-utilised properties for(a) 1979–80, (b) 1989–90, (c) 1991–92, (d) 1993–94, (e) 1994–95, (f) 1995–96 and (g) 1996–97. [11445]

Mr. Howard

The Home Office, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies assume accountability for all the offices in which they have occupations, including any vacant space therein, from 1 April 1996 only. Up to that date, responsibility for the whole of the Government common user office estate—CUE—in which Government Departments were housed, rests with Property Holdings, and, prior to 1 April 1990, rested with the Property Services Agency. That part of the question covering previous years is, therefore, a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment.

For 1996–97, the Home Office received a transfer of £1.4 million from Property Holdings to cover the costs of vacant space in offices occupied by the Department, its agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

For future years, efficiency plans being prepared within the Department are expected to lead to a reduced requirement for office accommodation, and the resultant rationalisation of the estate will enable the Home Office to deliver greater value for money across the range of services it provides.