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Written Answers
Wednesday 1 November 2006
Animal Welfare
Lord Morris of Manchester asked Her Majesty's Government:
What representations they have received from the president of the British Veterinary Association on the association's concerns about the implementation and enforcement by local authorities of legislation on animal licensing and animal welfare issues; and what response they are making.[HL7846]
The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Representations have been received from the British Veterinary Association and other welfare organisations about the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Bill. The representations concern who has lead responsibility for the enforcement of the Bill, possible differences in secondary legislation passed in England and the devolved Administrations, and the training that will be given to inspectors and the police. The Minister with responsibility for animal health and welfare will shortly send a detailed reply to these organisations.
The Bill will not result in changes to current enforcement responsibilities. Defra officials are working with those directly responsible for enforcement to produce a protocol explaining where lead responsibilities rest.
Armed Forces: Family Liaison Officers
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
What consideration they have given to appointing a dedicated family liaison officer for members of the Armed Forces deployed to Basra.[HL7832]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): Support for families of those deployed on operations is co-ordinated by the units from which those personnel have deployed, especially the unit welfare and community support staff who, in turn, can call on significant single service welfare resources including liaising with families. A particular operational location will have personnel from many different units, formations and (often) services, deployed from home locations across the UK and overseas. It would not be practical for an additional “family liaison officer” to intervene in the many different locations, with the many support staff already working to support the families.
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Armed Forces: Helicopters
Lord Astor of Hever asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many Sea King helicopters are held in long-term storage at HMS “Sultan”; and what steps are being taken to make them deployable.[HL7796]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): There are 36 Sea King helicopters at HMS “Sultan”. None of them are in an airworthy state. Of these, 20 are currently being used for ground instructional training purposes and a further 14 are pending possible sale or regeneration. The long-term future of these 34 aircraft is dependent upon the lift advanced concept phase (LACP) study that is reviewing the future medium lift capability required by the Armed Forces. There is one Sea King aircraft at “Sultan” that is held as a potential attrition reserve and one that is not repairable.
Armed Forces: NHS Treatment
Earl Attlee asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many members of the Armed Forces were in-patients in National Health Service hospitals on 10 October.[HL7567]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): The major proportion of Armed Forces in-patients in NHS hospitals are admitted to one of the five NHS hospital trusts where we have Ministry of Defence hospital units (MDHUs) or to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine hosted by University Hospital Birmingham Foundation Trust, which is the primary reception point for casualties from operations overseas.
On 10 October 2006, there were 33 service in-patients in the MDHU hospitals, and 16 in-patients in the RCDM. In addition, individual service men and women will have been referred by their unit's primary care provider to other NHS hospitals, or an individual might have been admitted as a result of accident or illness without reference to their parent unit. The numbers of individuals falling into these categories is not recorded centrally and could be established only at wholly disproportionate cost by examining the personal medical file of every service man and woman, which would additionally require the permission of all individuals. From previous work, it is estimated that there might be around a further 15 to 25 service personnel as in-patients in NHS hospitals on a typical day, in addition to those in the MDHU and RCDM hospitals.
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Armed Forces: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Lord Hanningfield asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many military personnel were treated for post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from participation in engagements in (a) Bosnia; (b) the first Gulf War; and (c) the Falklands conflict, expressed as a proportion of the total number of military personnel taking part in each engagement.[HL7577]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): Information on mental health conditions suffered by personnel who served in Bosnia, the 1990-91 Gulf conflict and the Falklands conflict is not held centrally. Comprehensive figures on the number of personnel who served in the conflicts in question and who have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) could be compiled only by examining their individual medical records. For those who have left the Armed Forces, this would also need to include their NHS records because upon leaving the Armed Forces, or on demobilisation for reservists, it is the long-established practice that responsibility for medical care passes to the NHS. This has been the case since 1948 under successive Governments. A patient's medical records can only be viewed for non-clinical reasons with the express consent of the individual concerned, to protect patient confidentiality. Therefore, the information exists but is not held centrally.
Bevin Boys
Lord Mason of Barnsley asked Her Majesty's Government:
What further consideration they have given to the possibility of recognising the conscripted Bevin Boy coal miners for their contribution to the war effort between 1939 and 1945.[HL7736]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Drayson): As indicated by the then Minister for Veterans, during the adjournment debate on 25 July 2006 in another place, the Ministry of Defence, in consultation with other interested government departments, is considering the case for the creation of a badge to recognise the particular contribution during the Second World War of conscripted Bevin Boys. A Statement will be made in due course.
Climate Change
Lord Dykes asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are planning any meetings with the campaign group Stop Climate Change Coalition or its affiliated groups.[HL7872]
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The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Lord Rooker): Ministers have regularly met the group Stop Climate Chaos since its formation in September 2005. Relating to the latest Stop Climate Chaos initiative, the “I Count” campaign, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs intends to write an open letter to the group expressing support for the event being held in London on 4 November.
The Secretary of State and his ministerial colleagues in the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs regularly meet with a number of bodies affiliated with the group and there are several such meetings scheduled in the coming weeks.
Elections: Proxy Voting
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
What is their response to the call by Judge Andrew Gilbart QC on 19 October at Preston Crown Court for inquiries into how the system of proxy voting could be improved.[HL7854]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): We will wish to study the judge's remarks carefully. The Electoral Administration Act 2006 includes a number of provisions to strengthen the security of proxy voting which we intend will all be in force at the May 2007 elections:
The new personal identifiers provisions will apply to proxy votes. The elector who appoints the proxy will have to supply their date of birth and signature when applying for a proxy vote, and they can be checked by the electoral registration officer (ERO) against any previously provided by the elector to the ERO or local authority.A person appointed as proxy who wishes to vote by post will—like other postal voters—be required to provide their date of birth and signature when they apply for a postal vote and, at elections, they will have to provide them on the postal voting statement, and if the personal identifiers do not match this may lead to the vote being invalid.Persons appointed as a proxy who vote in person at a polling station will have to sign for their ballot paper, like all other polling station voters. These signatures will be kept after the election and may be scrutinized if there is a police investigation into alleged fraud or an election petition.There is a new offence of falsely applying for a postal or proxy vote. This new offence was brought into force on 11 September 2006.Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether the application forms for proxy votes will be redesigned to make them clearer to electors completing them; and whether they will make it mandatory to provide more information on the reasons why electors are unable to attend their usual polling station.[HL7855]
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Baroness Ashton of Upholland: We consider that the current statutory provisions that set out the requirements for applying for a proxy vote are sufficiently clear. We understand that the independent Electoral Commission will be issuing guidance to electoral officers to ensure all election forms, including proxy application forms, are clear, accessible and easy to understand, and we will support the commission in the production of such guidance.
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will restrict the availability of proxy votes to those people who would be unable either to visit their usual polling station or to receive and fill in a postal vote.[HL7856]
Baroness Ashton of Upholland: There are already clear rules on who may apply for a proxy vote and in what circumstances. Proxy voting gives greater choice to electors who may not be able to get to a polling station to vote; for example voters with a disability, service voters, or people who unexpectedly fall ill at the time of an election. We therefore do not plan to restrict the availability of proxy votes as suggested by the noble Lord.
Electoral Law: Local Elections
Lord Greaves asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, if separate elections are held for more than one vacancy on the same day in the same ward or division of the same local authority or parish council, it is possible for a person to stand in each separate election; and what are the consequences if such a candidate tops the poll in more than one of the elections.[HL7818]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs (Baroness Ashton of Upholland): There are no specific rules preventing a person nominating (or being nominated for) each of two or more casual vacancies within the same ward or division at a local government election. However, a successful candidate must make a declaration of which office he is accepting, and the returning officer should be able to declare, applying criteria set out under Section 89 of the Local Government Act 1972, which of the other candidates should fill the remaining vacant offices.
EU: Accounts
Lord Tebbit asked Her Majesty's Government:
When they expect the accounts of the European Union to be signed off as a true statement by the European Court of Auditors.[HL7956]
Lord McKenzie of Luton: Her Majesty's Government support the European Commission's stated objective to strive for a positive statement of assurance by 2009.
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Food Standards Agency
The Countess of Mar asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many primary food producers are members of the board of the Food Standards Agency; how many vacancies there are on the board; and whether it is intended that any of these vacancies should be filled by primary food producers.[HL7811]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner): The Food Standards Agency is currently seeking a new deputy chair and two new board members, one of whom will be appointed by the National Assembly for Wales. There is a statutory requirement that the appointing authorities should have regard to the desirability of securing a variety of skills and experience among members of the board, including experience in matters related to food safety or other interests of consumers in relation to food. Board members are appointed to act collectively in the public interest, not to represent a particular industry or sector. Neither the current chair nor deputy chair, and none of the current board members, are primary food producers.
Food: Trans Fats
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
How the medical advice about the health implications of trans fats has been updated since the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy published its research in 1994.[HL7761]
The Minister of State, Department of Health (Lord Warner): The Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN, which replaced the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy—COMA—in 2001) concluded in 2003 that COMA’s advice on trans-fatty acids (TFAs) was still current and that a further risk assessment of TFAs in its 2004-05 work programme was not warranted. TFAs were not therefore singled out for specific action.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) carried out a risk assessment on TFAs in 2004 and concluded that they raise blood cholesterol levels, thereby increasing the risk of coronary heart disease. These findings were in keeping with COMA’s 1994 conclusions. EFSA further noted that evidence from human intervention trials, strengthened by findings from epidemiological studies, supports the idea that the effect of TFAs on heart health may be greater than that of saturated fats. However, in line with SACN opinion, EFSA states that given current intake levels of TFAs, their potential to significantly increase cardiovascular risk is much lower than saturated fatty acids which are currently consumed in excess of dietary recommendations in many European countries.
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Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have made an assessment of the Government of Denmark's executive order no. 160 of 11 March 2003 on the content of trans-fatty acids in oils and fats.[HL7762]
Lord Warner: No assessment has been made of the Danish executive order on the content of trans-fatty acids in oils and fats, and there are currently no plans to make such an assessment.
We welcome the voluntary steps some manufacturers and retailers have taken to eliminate or reduce the use of hydrogenated vegetable oils (which contain trans-fatty acids) in their products on sale in the United Kingdom, provided that such reformulation should not result in increased saturated fat levels.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Warner: No assessment of the economic cost of a national ban on the use of trans-fatty acids in foods has been undertaken or is currently planned. Information on the costs involved in reformulatory procedures to remove trans-fatty acids would only be available from retailers and manufacturers of foods sold in the United Kingdom.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
How many British citizens consume more that the maximum intake of trans-fatty acids recommended by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy in 1994; and what proportion of this number is made up of children.[HL7764]
Lord Warner: The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) of adults aged 19 to 64, carried out in 2000-01, showed that about 96 per cent of adults consumed less than the recommended population average intake of trans-fatty acids. The NDNS of young people aged 4 to 18, carried out in 1997, showed that 96 per cent of young people consumed less than the recommended population average intake of trans-fatty acids.
Baroness Miller of Chilthorne Domer asked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will commission further research into the relative consumption of trans-fatty acids by (a) different age groups; and (b) different socio-economic groups.[HL7765]
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