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Romania: Orphans
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will make representations to the Government of Romania on the imminent closure of orphanages before adequate alternative arrangements have been made to meet the needs of the resident children.[HL6490]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The Romanians are aware of European childcare standards and their obligation to take the best interests of the child into account when considering closing down orphanages. Both the European Commission and our embassy in Bucharest can raise any concerns with the Romanian authorities should they arise, but we currently have no plans to do so.
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will invite the European Union to provide long-term funds for Romanian and international non-governmental organisations organising adoption, fostering, family-sized homes and other support for orphans and abandoned children in Romania.[HL6491]
3 July 2006 : Column WA23
Lord Triesman: We have no plans to ask the EU to provide long-term funds for this purpose. Between 1990 and 2000, the EU contributed approximately €100 million to Romania for child protection and humanitarian support and is currently spending a further €13 million on childcare projects. The Government of Romania are working hard to improve childcare to meet EU standards and have made huge strides in this since the fall of the communist regime in 1989. Our embassy in Bucharest is in regular contact with non-governmental organisations in Romania and continues to support their work.
Russia: Human Rights
Lord Hylton asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many individual complaints have been received by the European Court of Human Rights from residents of Russia since they became admissible; and how long it will take to hear and resolve such complaints.[HL6521]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): Russia became party to the European Convention on Human Rights on 5 May 1998. From 1 November 1998 to 30 April 2006, 41,803 applications were lodged against Russia. Of these, 254 were declared admissible and 119 have received judgment. It is not possible to say how long it will take to hear and resolve applications. This will depend on the types of cases, their complexity, and how the respondent state chooses to deal with them. A new mechanism for bringing cases to the court came into effect on 1 November 1998 with the result that there are no statistics for Russia between May and November 1998.
Sport: Gambling
Lord Lipsey asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the Secretary of State's power to make regulations controlling the advertising of gambling under the Gambling Act 2005 extends to advertisements by tipsters.[HL6562]
Lord Davies of Oldham: Section 327(1)(a) of the Gambling Act 2005 provides that a person advertises gambling if,
- “he does anything to encourage one or more persons to take advantage (whether directly or through an agent) of facilities for gambling”.
Consequently, while tipsters are not directly involved in gambling, there may be circumstances under which advertisements by tipsters could fall within the Act's definition of advertising, and therefore within the scope of any regulations made by the Secretary of State controlling the advertising of gambling.
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport intends to keep her regulation-making powers with regard to advertising in reserve for the time being, in favour of self-regulation by the advertising
3 July 2006 : Column WA24
My department is also in contact with the Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services (ICSTIS) and Trading Standards with regard to tipster services.
Stakeholders
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will refrain from using the word “stakeholder” in all official government reports and other publications for which they are responsible.[HL6601]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: “Stakeholder” is a commonly used word with an established meaning, both within government and in the private sector. The wording of government reports and publications is a matter for the relevant department.
Transport: Eddington Review
Baroness Valentine asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they expect Sir Rod Eddington's review of the long-term links between transport and the United Kingdom's economic productivity, growth and stability to be completed; and whether the report of the review will be published.[HL6525]
Lord McKenzie of Luton: In a Written Statement to Parliament on Thursday 29 June on the timing of the Eddington study, the Secretary of State for Transport announced that Sir Rod Eddington is,
Travellers: Housing Benefit
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on 18 May (WA 68), on what date they received the draft report of the research to inform a review of the mechanisms of how housing benefit is administered to Travellers claiming at county council, district and unitary council sites, and private sites; whether they propose to alter the draft before publication; and, if so, why they have not given Parliament, local authorities, Travellers and members of the public the opportunity of scrutinising the draft and suggesting changes.[HL6254]
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The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The draft report was received by the department in December last year. It is normal practice for external research commissioned and funded by the department to go through a number of routine draft stages to ensure factual accuracy and the robustness of the evidence. The drafting process is not intended to affect the conclusions and findings of the research unless it brings new evidence to light or identifies a misinterpretation of the evidence presented in the research.
Drafts of research reports are working documents and not therefore circulated beyond the project advisory group until publication. The report is expected to be published shortly.
Vehicle and Operator Services Agency
Lord Campbell-Savours asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Davies of Oldham on 16 June (WA 51-2), which departments paid the costs incurred by the Sealand Boat Deliveries Ltd in the case against the Vehicle Operations Services Agency in the Llangefni magistrates’ court.[HL6470]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): The costs awarded to Sealand Boat Deliveries by Llangefni magistrates’ court were made payable from central funds. The department responsible for this expenditure is the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
Water Supply: Consumption
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
What was the total consumption of water in cubic metres, including a breakdown of consumption per occupant, in the headquarters of the Ministry of Defence in each of the past 10 years.[HL6229]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): The information requested on water consumption in MoD Main Building in Whitehall is given in the table below. Unfortunately, we have not been able to establish the information for financial year 1996-97. The water consumption figures are rounded because actual consumption data is linked to billing periods, and these do not fall neatly into financial years. The figure for consumption per occupant is an approximation based on the total population of Main Building. MoD Main Building was largely vacant for redevelopment from August 2001 to May 2004 and this is reflected in the data, which also demonstrates a significant reduction in the average water consumption rate over the period. Work is in hand
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| Period | Approximate water consumption in cubic metres | Number of occupants | Average annual consumption per occupant in cubic metres |
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much water in total and per occupant in cubic metres was consumed in the headquarters of the Home Office in each of the past 10 years.[HL6567]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): In order to contribute to the annual Sustainable Development in Government report, departments are required to submit data on the total volume of water used across their office estate, as well as the number of staff. From these data, departments calculate an average per person. The Home Office does not routinely retain information about average water consumption relating to particular buildings but we are able to supply the following details for our headquarters building for the past seven years. Figures up to 2005 relate to the previous headquarters building at 50 Queen Anne's Gate and for 2005-06 they relate to the new headquarters building at 2 Marsham Street (which consolidated staff from the previous headquarters and several other buildings).
| Financial Year | Consumption (cubic metres) | Staff Numbers in HO HQ building | Average consumption (cubic metres) |
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
How much water in total and per occupant in cubic metres was consumed in the headquarters of the Department of Health in each of the past 10 years.[HL6571]
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