Sadiq Khan

This Department does not hold information on the number of complaints made against estate agents to the Property Ombudsman. However, the Property Ombudsman Annual Report 2013 (http://www.tpos.co.uk/downloads/reports/TPO_Annual_Report_2013.pdf ) and the 2014 Interim Report (http://www.tpos.co.uk/downloads/reports/TPO-Interim-Report-2014.pdf ) set out the number of complaints received and resolved for Letting Agents and Estate Agents.

The number of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) who did not meet one, two, three, four, five or more than five of the Electoral Commission's performance standards in each year since 2008 is as follows:

In 2013 the Commission introduced a new performance standards framework for EROs to support them in preparing for and delivering the transition to Individual Electoral Registration. In March 2014 we reported that no EROs failed to meet the first of these standards.

Pursuant to the answer given to the Hon. Member on 9 December 2014, UIN 216888. The total given for the number of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) who did not meet one or more of the Commission’s performance standards was mistakenly given as 299. This figure incorrectly included two local authorities who, due to local government re-structuring, did not exist in their current form in 2008 so should not have been included in the figures. The table above provides the correct figures for this year.

Due to a technical error, the answer to question 205841 was not processed, as had been believed. I apologise and can confirm to the Rt. Hon. Member that the question has now been answered.

The number of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) who did not meet one or more of the Commission’s performance standards in each year since their introduction in 2008 is as follows:

In 2013 the Commission introduced a new performance standards framework for EROs to support them in preparing for and delivering the transition to Individual Electoral Registration. In March 2014 we reported that no EROs failed to meet the first of these standards.

More detailed information on the performance of EROs in each year is available on the Commission’s website.

The Commission has not to date made any recommendations to the Secretary of State to issue a direction to individual EROs.

Where an ERO does not carry out their duties in full, the Commission’s priority is to take action to ensure that the ERO makes improvements to their performance in the discharge of their functions. In doing this, the Commission considers the full range of available options, taking into account the facts in each particular case. This could include making a recommendation to the Secretary of State to issue a direction to the ERO to require them to make improvements.

The information requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House.

The table sets out the amounts paid to the companies in question by DCMS, which in the relevant years, included the Government Equalities Office (GEO). For prior years the Department does not hold this information. This will be recorded in the accounts of the Home Office, as the GEO used the expertise of the Home Office and Government Procurement Service.

The Table below details expenditure incurred by the Department of Energy and Climate Change for each of the financial years 2010 to 2014 with the firms listed. We do not have any record of expenditure with the firms of (d) GEOAmey; (g) Mitie; (h) Working Links (i) A4E; (j) MTC Amey; (k) GEO Group.

I refer the honourable Member for Tooting to the answer given by my hon. Friend, the Minister for Sport and Tourism on given on 2nd September 2014 Official Report, col 201W . The figures for 2013-14 and 2014-15 for DCMS included figures for the Government Equalities Office (GEO). Within those totals, the figures for the GEO are:

* the percentage value is calculated against a proportion of the GEO budget which excludes grant payments and internal payment transfers between departments

For prior years the Department does not hold this information, as the GEO used the expertise of the Home Office and Government Procurement Service.

There are around 800 third party suppliers of services to the House of Commons and given system changes in recent years it would involve disproportionate cost to derive precise figures of contract expenditure by financial year. It is estimated that expenditure has broadly been equivalent to:

For 2014/15 the planned amount is around £100 million which represents 40.8% of the combined capital and resource budget.

The Department of Energy and Climate Change entered into a contract for the provision of transactional HR and finance services in November 2013 and incurred expenditure of £0.5m during 2013-14. This is equivalent to 0.01% of total departmental expenditure for the year. In previous years the equivalent services were provided to DECC by other government departments. Expenditure on these services in 2014-15 is forecast to be approximately £1.2m and to account for a similar proportion of total expenditure.

The majority of the NAO's contracted work planned in 2014–15 is in financial audit, where additional audit resources are provided by some half-a-dozen private audit firms. The NAO's partners are chosen through a rigorous process, in line with EU rules on public sector procurement, to ensure value for money. Financial audit work comprises some 55% of the NAO's total activity and around 20% of the NAO's financial audit work is outsourced.

The use of private firms to carry out some audits is included in the NAO's Strategy, approved by the Public Accounts Commission. The current mix ensures that the NAO maintains the breadth of insight into departments which the C&AG derives on behalf of Parliament from having NAO staff undertake financial audits directly, but also has sufficient exposure to the framework partners so as to benchmark the NAO against the private sector and import best practice. The NAO also uses outsourcing arrangements in its value-for-money or investigations work where specialist skills are required.

% of NAO Activities contracted out

Total Voted Gross Expenditure (Audit and Assurance) excludes the following exceptional expenditure:

• Restructuring of the NAO (£4.2m in 2013–14)
• Refurbishment of the NAO building (£16.2 million in 2009–10)
• Temporary accommodation costs (£5.9 million in 2009–10)

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority. I have asked IPSA to reply.

Letter from Marcial Boo, July 2014:

As Chief Executive of the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about contracted out services.

Contracted out expenditure has been interpreted as all third party expenditure and the data are set out in the below table.

A comprehensive answer cannot be provided without incurring disproportionate cost as the Department does not maintain a single register of all contracted out services. However, the Department does routinely publish details of the ‘Outsourced Programme Managed Services' in its annual resource accounts. These are contracts the Department has placed to manage the delivery of programmes and work to support the Department's objectives.

The figures over the financial years in question along with the total programme expenditure for the core Department are as follows:

F/Yr OutsourcedService Costs Total Programme Expenditure

2013/14 £23.0m £23,566m

2012/13 £34.9m £21,077m

2011/12 £10.2m £22,373m

2010/11 £29.9m £25,734m

2009/10 £69.2m £24,610m

Note: the total programme expenditure reflects non-administration costs, including payment of grant-in-aid, grants and other disbursements in support of policy initiatives.

The Church Commissioners, as one of the National Church Institutions (NCIs) alongside:

(a) The Archbishops' Council,

(b) The Church of England Pensions Board,

(c) The Archbishop of Canterbury (in his Corporate Capacity),

(d) The Archbishop of York (in his Corporate Capacity),

(e) Lambeth Palace Library,

(f) The National Society (Church of England) for Promoting Religious Education

jointly employ staff carrying out service functions that are often contracted out to external organisations – including Finance, Legal, HR, Communications, Records, IT & Office Services.

The figures shown below represent the cost (and associated proportion of the Church Commissioners' administration budget) of those wholly outsourced/contracted out activities that were not provided by the NCIs themselves.

Also to note note:

(i) The Church Commissioners operate with a January-December financial year.

(ii) The figures do not include Investment Management fees – such costs of investing are treated as a direct deduction from investment income.

The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.

Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

The ward results for Wandsworth were as follows:

The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match. This work was carried out by the Cabinet Office and not directly by the Electoral Commission.

The red and amber results for London, each London borough and each parliamentary constituency in London were as follows:

Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

The Electoral Commission informs me that the confirmation dry run involved matching all entries on the electoral registers against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Customer Information System database. Entries would be marked as green if they matched with DWP, amber if they were a partial match or red if there was no match.

Results for all wards are available on the Commission's website here: http://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/__data/assets/excel_doc/0003/163146/Confirmation-dry-run-2013-Results-Wards.xls

The results for each London borough and each parliamentary constituency in London were as follows:

We do not centrally hold information on prior attainment.

Work is under way to introduce, this summer, mandatory education assessment by the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) provider for all newly-received prisoners. This will ensure that all offenders, not just those that go on to learning, receive a learning assessment (focused around English and maths, but also covering learning difficulties and disabilities).

Table 1 shows Offender Learner English and Maths Achievements for the 2012/13 academic year. The data are broken down by Level rather than Key Stage as this is the appropriate measure for further education qualifications.

Table 1: Offender Learners - English and Maths Achievements by level, 2012/13

Notes

1) The data source is the Individualised Learner Record.

2) Volumes are rounded to the nearest ten except for the Grand Totals which are rounded to the nearest hundred.

3) Learners undertaking courses at more than one level will be counted once for each applicable level, but once only in the Total.

4) Offender learners are defined as offenders aged 18 or over that participated in Skills Funding Agency funded learning while in the prison system. These offenders were funded via the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) budget.

Information on Offender Learner English and maths achievements by level for 2010/11 and 2011/12 is published as a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release. Data for earlier years are not available on a comparable basis.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284253/January2013_OLASS_Participation_Achievement.xls

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-further-education-and-skills

We do not centrally hold information on prior attainment.

Work is under way to introduce, this summer, mandatory education assessment by the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) provider for all newly-received prisoners. This will ensure that all offenders, not just those that go on to learning, receive a learning assessment (focused around English and maths, but also covering learning difficulties and disabilities).

Table 1 shows Offender Learner English and Maths Achievements for the 2012/13 academic year. The data are broken down by Level rather than Key Stage as this is the appropriate measure for further education qualifications.

Table 1: Offender Learners - English and Maths Achievements by level, 2012/13

Notes

1) The data source is the Individualised Learner Record.

2) Volumes are rounded to the nearest ten except for the Grand Totals which are rounded to the nearest hundred.

3) Learners undertaking courses at more than one level will be counted once for each applicable level, but once only in the Total.

4) Offender learners are defined as offenders aged 18 or over that participated in Skills Funding Agency funded learning while in the prison system. These offenders were funded via the Offenders' Learning and Skills Service (OLASS) budget.

Information on Offender Learner English and maths achievements by level for 2010/11 and 2011/12 is published as a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release. Data for earlier years are not available on a comparable basis.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/284253/January2013_OLASS_Participation_Achievement.xls

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-further-education-and-skills

The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.

The Prime Minister's Office and the Deputy Prime Minister's Office are an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

As part of my department's transparency programme, any spend over £25,000 is available on the Department's website. Since January 2011, all contracts over £10,000 in value are published on Contracts Finder (http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk/).

The Prime Minister's Office and the Deputy Prime Minister's Office are an integral part of the Cabinet Office.

As part of my department's transparency programme, any spend over £25,000 is available on the Department's website. Since January 2011, all contracts over £10,000 in value are published on Contracts Finder (http://www.contractsfinder.co.uk/).

My Department outsources with Bouygues, Fujitsu (contracts signed under the previous administration), with the mutual joint venture MyCSP (signed in 2012) and Shared Services Connected Limited (signed in 2013).

As breakdown by year is

9/10 £10,370,213

10/11 £12,567,173

11/12 £18,417,184

12/13 £54,189

13/14 £832,189

Departmental resource and capital budgets are published online.

My Department outsources with Bouygues, Fujitsu (contracts signed under the previous administration), with the mutual joint venture MyCSP (signed in 2012) and Shared Services Connected Limited (signed in 2013).

As breakdown by year is

9/10 £10,370,213

10/11 £12,567,173

11/12 £18,417,184

12/13 £54,189

13/14 £832,189

Departmental resource and capital budgets are published online.

Information on the number of jobs that will be created from the European Structural and Investment (ESI) Funds spent in London in the 2014-2020 programming period is set out in the ESI Funds strategy prepared by the London Enterprise Panel and other local partners which can be found on the London Enterprise Panel website.

Data on the number of smart electricity and gas meters installed is set out in the Government’s ‘Smart Meters, Great Britain, Quarterly report to end September 2015’, published on 22 December 2015:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistical-release-and-data-smart-meters-great-britain-quarter-3-2015.

The roll-out is making good progress with more than 2 million meters now operating under the Programme.

Data is not collected from energy suppliers in a format that allows details of the number of smart meters installed in London or each London borough to be produced.

We will collate this information and deposit it in the Libraries of the House shortly.