§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the President of the Council how many meetings of the Appointments Commission have been held since its establishment; and how may of these were used to interview applicants for a people's peerage. [151660]
§ Mrs. BeckettI understand that the Appointments Commission has held 10 formal full meetings since its establishment in May 2000. Interviews have not taken place at formal full meetings of the Commission.
§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the President of the Council, pursuant to her answer of 28 February 2001,Official Report, column 714W, on people's peers, for what 331W reason the provision of information including the first part of the post codes of applications would breach the requirement to treat applications in confidence. [152277]
§ Mrs. BeckettI have nothing to add to my answer of 28 February.
§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the President of the Council if she will list(a) the publications and (b) the costs of the advertisements soliciting applications for a people's peerage and the responses generated by each title. [152501]
§ Mrs. BeckettThe Appointments Commission decided to use other methods than newspaper advertising for publicising its work and soliciting applications. It set up an easily accessible website and produced 15,000 information packs, many of which were distributed to organisations and individuals who might be interested in making a nomination, at a cost of approximately £25,000. It also undertook four regional roadshows, at a cost of about £12,000. There were just over 3,000 applications by the deadline of 17 November.