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BSE
Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Further to the remarks of the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) quoted by Lord Donoughue on 27 January (H.L. Deb., col. 150), whether the CMO considers that, as a matter of general principle, where a significant level of infectivity for a potentially fatal pathogen can be demonstrated in a product which is likely to be eaten by consumers without destroying that infectivity, that product should not be allowed to remain in the human food chain; and, if not, what particular aspects of BSE require its exclusion from the human food chain.[HL370]
Lord Donoughue: I understand that the Chief Medical Officer does feel that, as a matter of principle, he would give advice along the lines described. BSE is a unique case as, unlike other aspects of food-borne diseases, it is not destroyed by normal cooking processes and normal good hygiene practices do not control transmission of infectivity. Moreover, only a small amount (less than one gram) of infected material may be sufficient to cause disease.
Bovine Blood Products in Calf Feed
Lord Lucas asked Her Majesty's Government:
- When they expect the Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee (SEAC) to rule on the advisability of allowing calves to be fed on bovine blood products.[HL371]
Lord Donoughue: The Committee considered this and other aspects of the safety of blood at its January 1998 meeting. They have not called for urgent action by the Government and have decided to look into this further at future meetings.
Office for the Supervision of Solicitors
The Earl of Inchcape asked Her Majesty's Government:
- How many people the Office for the Supervision of Solicitors employs; of these how many are employed in purely supportive administrative and clerical work; how many, including out-workers and part-timers, if any, are engaged in the business of supervising solicitors; and, of those engaged in the business of supervising solicitors, how many have a current legal qualification--that is, a solicitor's practising certificate or equivalent; and how many have had formal legal training--that is, a university law degree or equivalent.[HL380]
The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg): The Office for the Supervision of Solicitors is the responsibility of the Law Society, not Her Majesty's Government. We therefore do not hold the information requested. I suggest that the noble Lord contact the office itself for this information.
Northern Ireland: Analysis of GCSE Results 1994-97
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will publish data for Northern Ireland showing for comprehensive schools, modern schools, grammar schools, all state schools, independent schools and all schools separately, the percentage of all 16 year-old pupils in each of the years 1994 to 1997 passing GCSE examinations with Grades A* to C in the following subjects: mathematics, English, English literature, sciences (showing separately percentages for single award science, double award science, physics, chemistry and biology), French,
- history and geography, showing data separately for boys, girls and all pupils and including for each category of school, the number of schools and the number of 16 year-old pupils; and[HL408]
Whether they will publish data for Northern Ireland showing for comprehensive schools, modern schools, grammar schools, all state schools, independent schools and all schools separately, the percentage of all 16 year-old pupils in each of the years 1994 to 1997 passing GCSE examinations with Grades A* to C in the following subjects: mathematics and English, mathematics, English and one science; mathematics, English, one science, French and either history or geography, showing data for each combination of subjects separately for boys, girls and all pupils and including for each category of school, the number of schools and the number of 16 year-old pupils.[HL409]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Lord Dubs): The information requested is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. I have arranged for the Minister with responsibility for education in Northern Ireland to send you copies of the School Performance Tables for the relevant years.
Baroness Blatch asked Her Majesty's Government:
- Whether they will publish data for Northern Ireland showing for comprehensive schools, modern schools, grammar schools, all state schools, independent schools and all schools separately, the percentage of all 16 year-old pupils in each of the years 1994 to 1997 obtaining five or more GCSE passes at Grades A* to C, showing data separately for boys, girls and all pupils and including for each category of school, the number of schools and the number of 16 year-old pupils.[HL410]
Lord Dubs: The information requested is as follows:
| Secondary schools | Grammar schools | All schools(1) | |
| 1993-94 | |||
| Total(2) | 27% | 91% | 49% |
| Number of schools | 160 | 71 | 231 |
| Number of Year 12 pupils | 15,668 | 8,102 | 23,770 |
| 1994-95 | |||
| Total(2) | 27% | 94% | 51% |
| Number of schools | 161 | 71 | 232 |
| Number of Year 12 pupils | 15,964 | 9,290 | 25,254 |
| 1995-96 | |||
| Boys | 21% | 92% | 45% |
| Girls | 36% | 96% | 59% |
| Total | 28% | 94% | 52% |
| Number of schools | 165 | 71 | 236 |
| Number of Year 12 pupils | 16,974 | 9,394 | 26,368 |
| 1996-97 | |||
| Boys | 23% | 93% | 47% |
| Girls | 38% | 96% | 60% |
| Total | 30% | 95% | 54% |
| Number of schools | 166 | 71 | 237 |
| Number of Year 12 pupils | 16,399 | 9,299 | 25,698 |
(1) Data are not available in respect of independent and special schools.
(2) Separate figures for boys and girls not available.
Lord Mason of Barnsley asked Her Majesty's Government:
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn): Last July my right honourable friend the Home Secretary announced the Government's decision to accept the principle of the Law Commission's proposals for reform of those offences mainly contained in the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861.
We have today issued a consultation document containing the Government's proposals on how the law might be reformed, together with a draft Bill. Copies of the consultation document have been placed in the Library. This is an important document demonstrating the Government's commitment to modernising and improving the law, and to genuine consultation on specific, considered proposals.
Our proposals are largely based on those contained in the Law Commission's Report No. 218 Offences Against the Person and General Principles, but they are not identical to those of the Law Commission. The law has developed since the Law Commission first published its report and on some issues we have taken the opportunity to review the law further, while on others we have taken a somewhat different view from that of the Law Commission.
There are important and difficult issues set out in the consultation document. We are not seeking to introduce new offences but to clarify and rationalise the existing law. We urge all those concerned about this issue to read this paper and respond to it.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Williams of Mostyn: There are currently 25 police liaison officers posted to Britain. They are posted to the American, French, Spanish and Japanese Embassies and the Canadian and South African High Commissions. There are also officers from Australia, France, Germany, Italy and Norway (representing the Nordic countries) posted to the National Criminal Intelligence Service and from France and Germany at the European Liaison Section of the Metropolitan Police Service. In addition, there are 12 Customs liaison officers posted to the American and French Embassies, the Indian and South African High Commissions, and the National Criminal Intelligence Service.
Lord Wallace of Saltaire asked Her Majesty's Government:
Lord Williams of Mostyn: There are currently 16 police liaison officers posted abroad: 14 are postings by the National Criminal Intelligence Service, and the other two are secondments arranged via the North West Regional Crime Squad and the Dependant Territories Regional Intelligence System.
It is not the practice to state exactly where liaison officers are posted because of the possible danger to their safety, but I can confirm that the majority of these police officers are posted to British Embassies in member states of the European Union. In addition, there are 55 liaison officers from Her Majesty's Customs and Excise posted overseas, mostly outside the European Union, with one based at the Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon. One of the police officers and one of the Customs officers are the United Kingdom's liaison officers at the Europol Drugs Unit in The Hague.
What plans they have to reform the law on non-fatal offences against the person.[HL592]
What is the total number of police liaison officers now posted to Britain, and from which foreign countries.[HL446]
What is the total number of police liaison officers now posted abroad, and to which national capitals or international organisations they are attached.[HL445]
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