§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which518W persons acted as independent assessors in the sift and interview of candidates for appointment to the Board of the North West Development Agency. [91473]
§ Mr. MealeDr. Joan Firth acted as independent assessor in the sift and interviews of candidates for appointment to the Board of the North West Development Agency.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what potential conflicts of interest were taken into account when appointments were made to the Board of the North West Development Agency. [91474]
§ Mr. MealeThe Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions asked all candidates for appointment to complete a questionnaire, giving details of any companies or partnerships of which they were or had been a director or partner during the past 10 years. Candidates were specifically asked to declare any facts that they felt might be raised in public in the future in relation to their suitability to hold the appointment, particularly anything that could be presented as a conflict of interest.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) if he will list the names of individuals and other bodies who nominated persons to the Board of North West Regional Development Agency; [91470]
(2) in what journals a general advertisement was placed seeking nominations to the Board of North West Regional Development Agency [91469]
§ Mr. MealeNominations were invited from regional stakeholders. I list here the names of those individuals and bodies who nominated people. A press release was issued to the regional press saying that Regional stakeholders had been invited to make nominations. In addition an advertisement inviting applications for board membership of all DETR' s NDPBs was placed inThe Sunday Times, The Guardian and the Journal (ethnic press).
Nominations for the RDA Board were received from the following organisations/individuals:
- Action with Communities in Rural England
- Angela Eagle MP
- Association of Colleges
- Bank of England North West (Manchester Agency)
- Bank of England North (Liverpool)
- Ben Chapman MP
- Bolton City Challenge
- Bolton Metro
- Brian Iddon MP
- Brian Simpson MEP
- British Chamber of Commerce
- British Pakistani and Kashmiri Councillors Forum—North West
- Business in the Community
- Cabinet Office, Public Appointments Unit
- Central Lancashire Development Agency
- Cllr John West
- Confederation of British Industry (CBI)
- Co-operative Retail Services Ltd.
- Co-operative Union Ltd.
- Cumbria County Council
- Department for Culture, Media and Sport
519 - Department of Trade and Industry
- DfEE
- East Lancashire Chamber of Commerce
- Engineering Employers' Federation
- Enterprise plc
- Environment Agency
- Federation of Small Businesses
- Forum of Private Business
- Gerry Fitzhenry
- Home Office
- Hurlston Management Ltd.
- Ian Stewart MP
- Jane Kennedy MP
- Lancashire Council of Mosques
- Lancashire County Council
- Lindsay Hoyle MP
- Lord (Lewis) Carter
- Lorna Fitzsimons MP
- Louise Ellman MP
- LWS Waste Services
- Manchester Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Merseyside Development Corporation
- Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
- Mrs. A. Rea
- National Farmers Union
- Nicholas R. Winterton MP
- North West Council for Training and Enterprise
- North West Region Co-operative Enterprise Ltd.
- North West Regional Association
- North West Tourist Board
- Prof. Martin Harris CBE, on behalf of the Vice-Chancellors NW
- Universities
- Partnership Projects Ltd.
- Paul Goggins MP
- Prof. John Last CBE
- Richard Corbett MEP
- Roy Phillips
- Rural Development Commission
- TEC National Council
- The National Trust
- The NW Federation for Sport, Recreation and Conservation
- The right hon. Margaret Beckett
- The Rural Development Commission
- Tim Collins CBE, MP
- United Kingdom Co-operative Council
- United Utilities PLC
- West Cumbria Partnership
- Wigan MBC
- Zeneca Group plc.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will instruct the North West Development Agency to carry out an internal inquiry into the change in the costs of mileage allowances arising out of the transfer of English Partnership offices from Cockermouth to Penrith. [91464]
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what the location is of the office in his Department which held the data relating to nominations to the Board of the North West Development Agency. [91471]
§ Mr. MealeThe data relating to nominations to the Board of the North West Development Agency are held by the Government Office for the North West, located in Sunley Tower, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate has been made of the freehold value of English Partnerships' offices in Cockermouth on the basis of English Partnerships remaining as a tenant. [91472]
§ Mr. MealeIssues relating to accommodation are a matter for the North West Development Agency. The English Partnerships office at Cockermouth transferred to the Agency on 1 April 1999. I understand that the portfolio of premises, including the offices at Lakeland Business Park, is valued annually by independent valuers. The most recent valuation took place on 31 March and reflected the occupation of the premises by Agency staff. For commercial reasons the precise detail of the annual valuation is confidential.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions which organisation will receive the moneys raised from the sale of English Partnerships' offices at Home Wood in Cockermouth. [91457]
§ Mr. MealeI understand that Home Wood is now known as Lakeland Business Park. It was transferred from English Partnerships to the North West Development Agency (NWDA) on 1 April 1999. The estate at Lakeland Business Park consists of a number of office blocks, one of which is occupied by NWDA staff. The premises at Lakeland Business Park are owned by the NWDA and any proceeds from the sale of those premises would come to the Agency subject to the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions' accounting regulations. The premises, however, are not currently programmed for disposal.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, pursuant to his answer of 6 July 1999,Official Report, column 447, what estimate has been made of the letting value of the English Partnerships offices in Cockermouth. [91458]
§ Mr. MealeIssues concerning accommodation are a matter for the North West Development Agency. I understand from the Agency that the current rental estimate for the premises at Cockermouth is £4.50 per square foot.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if all offices to be occupied by the North West Development Agency have or are to have BREAM ratings. [91459]
§ Mr. MealeIssues relating to accommodation are a matter for the North West Development Agency. I understand that it is the Agency's policy to ensure that all new offices will obtain a BREAM rating.
521WThe Agency is currently either occupying premises which it has inherited or occupying existing premises on a temporary basis. The premises at Mercury Court in Liverpool, Lakeland Business Park in Cumbria, New Town Hall in Warrington and Mulfield House in Birchwood, Warrington, do not have a BREAM rating.
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what were the annual(a) office-related costs and (b) total of salaries and estate-related costs for the English Partnerships offices in Cockermouth for each of the last two years. [91460]
§ Mr. MealeThe annual figures for English Partnerships Cockermouth were as follows:
£ 1997–98 1998–99 Salaries 357,000 322,000 Other office related 157,000 170,000 Estate related 353,000 343,000
§ Mr. Campbell-SavoursTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will establish an independent inquiry into the change in the costs of mileage allowances arising from the transfer of English Partnerships' offices from Cockermouth to Penrith. [91463]