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For this reason, the Chief Veterinary Officer’s advice remains that we should not vaccinate poultry in advance of an avian influenza outbreak or as an immediate disease control response. High standards of biosecurity, separation of poultry from wild birds and careful surveillance for signs of disease are the most effective means of protection. However, we continue to keep our policy under close review in the light of scientific developments.
In view of current uncertainties in the nature and spread of the virus, we are securing access to a supply of 10 million doses of vaccine and we are developing a vaccination delivery plan with stakeholders as part of our contingency planning.
Aviation: Contaminated Air
Lord Tyler asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are aware of any payments made by British Aerospace Regional Aircraft Limited to Ansett Transport Industries Operations Limited and East West Airline Operations Limited, under an agreement dated 3 September 1993, in connection with design flaws in the BAe 146 aircraft allowing contamination of cabin air by oil and other fumes; and, in light of that agreement, what steps they took at that time to ensure that regulations pertaining to cabin air quality were enforced.[HL7230]
Lord Davies of Oldham: In the time available neither the Department for Transport nor the CAA has traced any knowledge of any agreements between British Aerospace Regional Aircraft Limited and Ansett Transport Industries Operations Limited and East West Airline Operations Limited or payments made to those airlines in connection with alleged design flaws leading to contamination of cabin air. The CAA has found a record of icing problems with a BAe 146 operated by Ansett. Altitude restrictions were imposed by the CAA and the FAA following an incident involving Ansett in 1992.
The department would not expect to have known about a commercial agreement between a UK aerospace manufacturer and its customers. But if the noble Lord has access to a document which seems relevant to government policy, we invite him to send us a copy to consider.
As the two airlines were Australian, we have contacted the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in Australia. It is not aware of any agreements or payments but says that Ansett (of which East West was a subsidiary)—now in liquidation—may have obtained a contribution for costs it incurred in investigating cabin air quality and in taking corrective action by modifying all its aircraft to incorporate improved air-flow arrangements.
Aviation: Pilots' Licences
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend to amend the Air Navigation Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1970) to extend the medical validity periods in respect of airline transport pilots' licences. [HL7199]
Lord Davies of Oldham: The validity periods of medical certificates issued to holders of air transport pilots' licences are established in the European Joint Aviation Requirements—Flight Crew Licensing. An amendment to these requirements is currently under consideration. If adopted this would increase the period of validity of medical certificates issued to air transport pilots' licence holders aged between 40 and 60 years who fly multi-pilot aircraft. The UK supports the proposal. Such changes can be implemented without amending the Air Navigation Order.
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their response towards proposals within the International Civil Aviation Organisation to raise the age limit for the licensing of airline transport pilots to 65 years; and whether any such decision would become mandatory in French airspace.[HL7391]
The Lord President of the Council (Baroness Amos): The UK welcomes the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s decision in March 2006 to amend the personnel licensing standards contained in Annex 1 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the Chicago convention) by raising the maximum age limit to 65 for commercial pilots. The increased age limit is applicable only in multi-pilot operations where the other pilot is under 60 years of age and will come into effect on 23 November 2006.
As a contracting state to the Chicago convention, France is obliged to recognise flight crew licences issued by another contracting state provided that the licence meets or exceeds the personnel licensing standards in Annex 1.
Beer Duty
Lord Jones of Cheltenham asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Jones of Cheltenham asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord McKenzie of Luton: Small breweries relief was introduced in 2002 to help small breweries to compete with larger breweries in order to maintain diversity in the beer industry and to boost local economies. HMRC latest estimates suggest that the cost of this relief was around £20 million in 2005-06. The Society of Independent Brewers estimates that around 130 new small breweries have been established since its introduction.
Belfast Agreement
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment they have made of the extent to which the Government of the Republic of Ireland are implementing the section of the Belfast Agreement of 1998 concerning equality and human rights.[HL7131]
Lord Rooker: The British and Irish Governments published a paper on 14 July 2001 entitled Achievements in Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. This paper includes details of the steps taken by the Irish Government in accordance with the “Rights, Safeguards and Equality of Opportunity” section of the agreement.
The document is available on the Northern Ireland Office website.
Benefits: Uprating
Lord Jones of Cheltenham asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many people benefit from the provision in Regulation 4 of the Social Security Benefit Uprating Regulations 2006 (S.I. 2006/712) who would not have benefited from the similar provision in Regulation 8 of the Social Security Benefit Uprating Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/645).[HL7217]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The requested information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
British Citizenship
Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether an application for British nationality may be made only on the prescribed application form; and, if not, what are the minimum requirements to constitute a valid application for British nationality.[HL7062]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): Forms for applying for British nationality are not prescribed in law. We may treat as a valid application any request for British nationality which contains at least the basic information necessary to enable the Home Secretary either to naturalise or to register the applicant or to tell whether the applicant may already be a British national. In practical terms, this means we should treat as an application any form or request sent to us which, together with accompanying documents, appears to contain the applicant's full name, address, date and place of birth (unless on inquiry this cannot be supplied), and a declaration stating that the contents are true. Using application forms has the benefit of ensuring that current guidance is available to applicants through the accompanying guides, and that the applicant has supplied relevant information and made correct declarations.
CAFCASS
Baroness Anelay of St Johns asked Her Majesty's Government:
What the percentage increase has been in the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service budget for the current financial year.[HL6950]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Education and Skills (Lord Adonis): In 2005-06 and 2006-07, CAFCASS received baseline funding of £100.79 million. In 2006-07, CAFCASS was also given additional one-off funding of £4.69 million to implement its change programme.
Cancer: Cervical
Earl Howe asked Her Majesty's Government:
What assessment they are undertaking of the availability of vaccines against the causes of cervical cancer; which body is conducting such work; and to what timeframe.[HL7070]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner): We are aware of the two vaccines in development by GlaxoSmithKline and Merck Sharp & Dhome.
The Department of Health has worked closely with the Health Protection Agency, the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, NHS Cancer Screening Programmes and prominent researchers in the field to inform a potential strategy for the NHS when the vaccines become available.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has now set up a sub-group to consider human papilloma virus vaccination. The sub-group met firstly on 23 May 2006, and manufacturers were invited to submit material for the group to consider. The sub-group will next meet on 22 September, prior to preparing a report to go to the main JCVI meeting in October.
Child Support Agency
Lord Steinberg asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions (Lord Hunt of Kings Heath): The Department for Work and Pensions is currently developing plans for introducing a new system of child support. As part of this, we are considering the most cost effective way of moving to a new organisation.
Children: European Convention Optional Protocol
Lord Roberts of Llandudno asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): The United Kingdom ratified the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (CRC-OP-AC) on 24 June 2003.The United Kingdom signed the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (CRC-OP-SC) on 7 September 2000. The Government are committed to ratifying it at the earliest opportunity. The Home Office is undertaking a review to determine the extent to which the United Kingdom complies with the articles set out in the optional protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The Government want to ensure that there are no gaps in the measures which exist to protect children in the way the protocol intended. Once the Government are confident that the United Kingdom is fully compliant, the optional protocol will be ratified.
China: Cultural Connections
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they funded the reception to launch “China UK connections through culture”; who compiled the invitation list; on what basis; and whether they will place the list of those invited and those who attended in the Library of the House.[HL7205]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): Connections through Culture is a new UK-China cultural initiative, co-funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the British Council and the Scottish Executive. It aims to enhance cultural co-operation between the UK and China with a view to improving overall relations, through a series of networking events and exchanges of personnel attached to cultural institutions. The departments involved in the initiative drew up the guest list for the launch event on 20 July from their existing contacts, to include those with an interest in culture and China. A list of invitees and attendees will be placed for reference in the Library of the House, and I will arrange for officials to send a copy of this list to the noble Lord.
China: Human Rights
Lord Alton of Liverpool asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have made to the Government of China about reports by Human Rights Watch of physical abuse, harassment and interference with due legal process in the case of Chen Guangcheng.[HL7214]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Lord Triesman): The Government included Chen Guangcheng on the individual case list handed to the Chinese authorities at the last round of the UK-China human rights dialogue on 3 July 2006. The case was also raised at the EU-China human rights dialogue in May 2006. The Government will continue to make representations on this case and on our other human rights concerns.
Civil Law
Lord Lester of Herne Hill asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the reply by the Baroness Scotland of Asthal on 3 July (HL Deb, col. 10), what is the justification for splitting responsibility for English civil and criminal law between the Home Office and the Department for Constitutional Affairs.[HL6760]
The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Scotland of Asthal): The responsibility of the Home Office for the criminal law reflects its responsibility for public protection, security, and law and order. The responsibility of the Department for Constitutional Affairs for civil law reflects its responsibility for effective dispute resolution for the public. Through the National Criminal Justice Board, Ministers from all three criminal justice departments work closely together to set the strategy for the criminal justice system and to monitor its delivery.
Civil Service: Graduate Recruitment
Lord Jones of Cheltenham asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many graduates are expected to be recruited by (a) the Foreign and Commonwealth Office; (b) H M Treasury; and (c) the Home Office in (i) the current financial year, and (ii) the financial year 2007—08. [HL7221]
Lord Bassam of Brighton: There is no central record of the total number of graduates recruited by government departments.
The Fast Stream is the only service-wide graduate recruitment programme, and recruitment into it is managed by the Cabinet Office on behalf of the whole Civil Service. Departments are free to recruit graduates independently of the Fast Stream, either into graduate development schemes of their own or into mainstream posts.
Our records show that in the current financial year the Foreign and Commonwealth Office recruited 26 Diplomatic Service Fast Streamers.
Our records show that, in the current financial year, HM Treasury has taken 12 Fast Streamers, and the Home Office has taken 26.
Civil Service: Northern Ireland
Lord Laird asked Her Majesty's Government:
Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Rooker on 12 July (WA 121), which Northern Ireland Civil Service departments planned staff reductions in 2005-06; in each case, how many reductions were planned; and, of the 1,198 staff reductions that year, how many were casual staff; and how many new casual staff started work in the same year.[HL7252]
Lord Rooker: The planned reductions in 2005-06 relate to funded posts under the Fit for Purpose reform programme rather than actual staff (i.e. headcount) reductions. Headcount numbers will vary up and down as staff leave or when vacancies are filled, but the number of funded posts in the Fit for Purpose programme is reducing to meet targets. The planned reductions in funded posts for each of the 11 Northern Ireland departments and their agencies in 2005-06, as profiled by departments in April 2005, were as follows:
| Department | 2005-06 Planned Reductions in Funded Posts |
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