Stuart Bell: During the period between 1 September 2010 and 27 October 2010, 7,428 questions for written answer were tabled and printed; 4,564 questions for oral answer were entered into the shuffle (a process dependent upon automated random number generation to determine which questions appear on the Order Paper and in what order); of these oral questions, 1,534 were topical questions. The Table Office...
Stuart Bell: The cost of the Members' Personal Safety Seminar on Tuesday 26 October 2010 was £78.50; this covered the cost of the refreshments that were provided. It is not possible to project the costs for the next two seminars as we are awaiting confirmed attendance figures.
Stuart Bell: Following a detailed review of all aspects of visitor management at Parliament, an enhanced training and accreditation programme has been introduced as part of a package of measures designed to regularise and professionalise all aspects of guiding at Parliament. The programme provides refresher training for Parliament's pool of in-house guides, including updates on developments in both...
Stuart Bell: The following positions in the House entitle the holder to accommodation: Clerk of the House, Serjeant at Arms, Speaker's Secretary, Head Office Keeper and two Senior Office Keepers. Sleeping facilities are provided for the Deputy Serjeant at Arms, Assistant Serjeant at Arms, Clerk Assistant, Clerk of Committees and Clerk of Legislation, reflecting their particular need to be available on the...
Stuart Bell: The Commission has made no assessment of recommendation 52 of the Speaker's Conference on parliamentary representation. It would not have been appropriate to make the proposed changes so close to the transfer of responsibility to IPSA.
Stuart Bell: No building contracts were cancelled as the reduced recess was planned for. Some projects which might have been included in the programme in a longer summer recess were not undertaken in the shorter recess, but only one, redecoration of the ceiling within the Shadow Cabinet Conference Room, is identifiable. This project was deferred but there was no cost to this deferral.
Stuart Bell: Recommendation 4 of the report of the Speaker's Conference on parliamentary representation recommended that the objectives of the Parliamentary Education Service should in future include encouraging a wider range of people to become candidates for election to Parliament. The Management Board responded to this recommendation (in HC 449 2009-10) as follows: School children visiting Westminster...
Stuart Bell: The cost to the House of Commons of the State Opening of Parliament in 2010 is estimated to have been £177,000, which represents the Commons contribution to costs shared with the House of Lords.
Stuart Bell: On the Prime Minister's statement which the Chancellor confirmed, the House will welcome the facts that the science budget is safeguarded, that the adult apprenticeship scheme will be advanced, and that £500 million will go into the Tyne and Wear metro and the Tees valley bus network. Following on from the questions of my hon. Friends the Members for Erith and Thamesmead (Teresa Pearce) and...
Stuart Bell: My hon. Friend is making his usual fluent speech with great confidence, but how can he say that this will provide a better system? I do not want to go too wide of the amendment, but how can it possibly be right that seven votes are required to end up with a majority of 50%? If there are seven candidates, people will vote seven times. How is that a fair result in a democracy?
Stuart Bell: This intervention relates directly to the amendment, Ms Primarolo. I am grateful to Lord Campbell-Savours for pointing out to me that the alternative vote as described in "the Chope amendment" is Labour policy as recommended by the report of the Plant commission. It was described as the supplementary vote, and was devised by Lord Campbell-Savours and Professor Dunleavy. In fact, Labour policy...
Stuart Bell: rose-
Stuart Bell: Will my hon. Friend make clear to the Committee that when he talks of being in favour of a change in the voting system and of getting rid of safe seats, he is expressing a personal opinion, and not the opinion of the Labour party?
Stuart Bell: Would not the hon. Gentleman's proposal put the voters in London in a difficult situation? If all this were to go through, next year, there would be one system of alternative voting for them, but in the mayoral elections the following year, there would be a different one. Is it not the case that there would be two AV systems available to the people of London?
Stuart Bell: As of 11 October 2010, the Members' Programme has collected 401 laptops and 1,811 desktop computers. Where there is re-sale value, this equipment will be sold in order to reduce overall costs to Parliament; otherwise it will be disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way. In both cases, all data and software will have been securely removed.
Stuart Bell: An early decision was made to adapt the programme of repairs, maintenance works and refurbishments to take account of the shorter summer recess and the September sitting. It is therefore difficult to quantify accurately the additional cost to the House Service of the September sitting. It was determined that it would not be cost effective or realistic to stop work while the House resumed in...
Stuart Bell: I congratulate the hon. Lady on her speech, which is holding the attention of the Committee and, like the best speeches, comes from the heart. May I suggest, by way of gentle persuasion, that instead of saying that she might vote against her Government, she say that she will do so?
Stuart Bell: The difference between the wholesale price and the retail price of a pint of Guinness in all outlets is £1.49.
Stuart Bell: Expenditure by the House of Commons Service for press cutting services was as follows: £ (i) In each of last three months (ii) In last 12 months for which figures are available September 2009-August 2010 (a) House of Commons Library 0 0 (b) House of Commons Select Committees 13,665 June 2010 803 July 2010 1,018 August 2010 1,331 ...
Stuart Bell: As at 30 June 2010, the House of Commons employed 1,639 full-time equivalent staff of whom 80 were temporary. The number of individuals employed was 1,789. Their annual salaries fall into the following ranges: Number Under £24,999 889 £25,000 to £64,999 814 £65,000 to £99,999 72 £100,000 to £149,999 13 More than £150,000 1