PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES - United Kingdom Parliament

1053W
Written Answers
26 MARCH 2013
Written Answers
1054W
Non-departmental public body (NDPB)
Reason for leaving 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Total 231 68 100 403 78
Royal Botanic Gardens,
Kew
Resignation 50 34 45 28 22
Retirement 6 13 9 8 2
Redundancy 0 0 1 3 0
Other 65 64 62 41 33
Total 121 111 117 80 57
Sea Fish Industry
Authority
Resignation 30 17 21 7 16
Retirement 0 0 1 1 1
Total 30 17 22 8 17
Sustainable Development
Commission (abolished 31
March 2011)
Resignation 0 3 8 1 2
—
Retirement 0 0 1 2
— 2
—
Redundancy 0 0 3 29 2
—
Transfer to other public
0 1 1 0 2
—
sector post
Other 1 3 4 0 2
—
Total 1 7 17 30 2
—
1
For years where information is not available n/a is shown.
2
For years where body is no longer in existence.
Travel
Mr Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his
Department spent on (a) the Government Car Service
and (b) other taxi or car services for ministerial travel
in each year since 2009-10; and if he will make a
statement. [142636]
Richard Benyon: The information is as follows.
(a) Departmental spend on the Government Cars
Service is published in an annual written Ministerial
Statement, details of which can be found within the
Libraries of both Houses:
2009-10
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/
cmhansrd/cm101028/wmstext/
101028m0001.htm#10102827000372
2010-11
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201212/
cmhansrd/cm120116/wmstext/
120116m0001.htm#12011611000194
2011-12
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/
cmhansrd/cm121220/wmstext/
121220m0001.htm#12122056000216
Details of the costs for 2012-13 will be published in
the normal way later this year.
(b) The Ministerial Code, published on 21 May
2010, included changes to the circumstances in which
Ministers would be entitled to a car and driver. Junior
DEFRA Ministers have given up their cars to reduce
costs and currently use the central Government Cars
Agency pool, unless the Secretary of State’s car is
available.
Private hire taxis are only used for ministerial travel
when no other option is available, and when it is appropriate
to do so. Since 2009, the costs were:
Cost (£)
2009-10 22,705.05
2010-11 2,947.96
2011-12 2,515.05
2012 to date 2,389.94
UN Convention on Biological Diversity
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress
the UK has made towards meeting the commitments it
made at the Convention on Biodiversity Conference of
the Parties in Nagoya on ecosystems mapping and
accounting. [150060]
Richard Benyon: The UK has been making steady
progress in these new and complex areas.
The Strategic Plan for Biodiversity agreed at Nagoya
included a specific target to incorporate the values of
biodiversity into national accounting and reporting systems
by 2020. This forms part of our commitment to ensuring
that natural capital is fully incorporated into the UK
Environmental Accounts by the same date. The approach
and milestones to achieve this goal have been set out by
the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in an ambitious
roadmap published in December 2012. DEFRA is now
working with the ONS to implement this roadmap.
The UK has also made good progress in relation to
ecosystem mapping, although this is not covered by a
specific strategic plan target. Relevant projects include
the development of maps of ecosystem functioning by
Natural England; the sectoral pilots of ecosystems mapping